ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Catherine University soccer capped its MIAC regular season home slate in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, blanking Gustavus Adolphus 3–0 at St. Kate's Field behind a balanced offensive showing and another clean sheet from goalkeeper
Brianna Valdez.
The Wildcats struck first in the 37th minute when
Lydia Benson found the back of the net to give St. Kate's a 1–0 lead that held into halftime. Out of the break, the hosts continued to press, doubling the advantage in the 55th minute as
Natalie Pfleger finished a sequence set up by
Briana Henaman and
Ari Douvier.
Henaman then put the match out of reach in the 69th minute, converting a feed from
Ashley Fugitt to make it 3–0. The senior forward paced the attack with a goal and assist on six shots, while Pfleger and Benson each tallied a score.
Valdez was steady in goal throughout, turning away eight Gustavus shots to record her seventh shutout of the season. St. Kate's defense limited the Gusties to just eight shots on goal despite 15 total attempts. The win puts Valdez at ten shutouts on the season ranking first in the MIAC while tied for second in Division III.
The Wildcats outshot Gustavus 23–15 overall and 14–8 on frame while generating six corner kicks to the visitors' two. With the win, St. Catherine improves to 15–2-0 overall and 9–1-0 in MIAC play, maintaining momentum heading into the postseason.
St. Kate's is back in action on Tuesday, October 28 hosting Simpson College for a non-conference match up at 3:30 pm. The Wildcats finish the regular season on Saturday, November 1 as they face St. Olaf College who is currently just behind the conference leading Wildcats in second.
