The Gustavus Women’s Soccer team went 1-1 against two tough teams in Augsburg and St. Benedict’s.

The Gusties were shut out for the second game in a row as it fell by a score of 2-0 at Augsburg College on October 7 at Edor Nelson Field. With the loss the Gusties now move to 5-4-2 (2-4 MIAC), while the Auggies have continued what has been an extremely strong season, staying undefeated on their home turf and move to 9-2 (4-1 MIAC).

“A lot of our style of play is built on hard work. When it comes down to a game like this, the details make the big difference. The fact that we were focused to get the job done willed us to a victory.” — Coach Burnett-Kyrie

Throughout the match, Gustavus was unable to generate a strong attack as it only recorded two shots on goal and could only muster 10 shots total. Coursey Edwards and Emily Skogseth each registered one shot on goal.

“We played well tonight, [we] just struggled to get the reward of putting the ball in the back of the net,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said.

The Auggies’ top scorer, Ashley St. Aubin put in a rebound goal after a shot from Ciara Gregory to record her 10th goal of the season at the 26th minute of the first period, which proved to be the game-winner. St. Aubin also led the Auggies with six shots, four being on net.

Around halfway through the second period, Ciara Gregory posted her second assist of the game after feeding Carter Denison who added an insurance goal to give Augsburg a 2-0 lead, in which Gustavus was unable to answer.

Augsburg outshot the Gusties 18-10, 10-2 shots on target. Gustavus and Augsburg each tallied four corner kicks, respectively. Goalkeeper Ashley Becker  made eight saves as she suffered her fourth loss of the season.

“We can certainly take some positives away from this game and prepare for our next matchup. Every game in the MIAC is always a battle, never an easy game,” Burnett-Kurie said.

The Black and Gold would refocus, and return home the following week to take on Saint Benedict at the Gustie Soccer Field, on Tuesday, October 11.

The Gustavus women’s soccer was able to return to form, as the team got off to an early lead in the first period and eventually prevailed by a score of 2-1 to defeat the College of Saint Benedict.

With the win the Gusties get back on track after two consecutive shutout losses, and thus Gustavus moves to 6-4-2 (3-4 MIAC), while the Blazers of Saint Benedict fall to 7-4-2 (3-3-1 MIAC).

“It was great to get back on the scoring sheet and it was nice to score early to get our confidence going,” Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie said. “It’s crunch time in the second half of the conference season and you have to gut out wins, and that’s what we did today.”

Not much over ten minutes into the first period, Maddison Ackiss sent a corner kick into the box to  Katie Johnson, who put home her first collegiate goal.

“It was nice to score early to get our confidence going. It’s crunch time in the second half of conference season and you have to gut out wins, and that’s what we did today.” — Coach Burnett-Kyrie

“She (Johnson) was in the right place at the right time and it was great for her because she has been working super hard to earn minutes so it was nice to see her on the scoresheet,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Another assist was credited to Ackiss just five minutes later as she ripped a shot that was blocked by a Blazer defender and then ended up on the foot up Emily Skogseth, who put away her third goal of the season, tying Ackiss for the team-lead.

In the first period the Gusties led the Blazers in shots (6-5) and corner kicks (2-0).

“A lot of our style of play is built on hard work. When it comes down to a game like this, the details make the big difference. The fact that we were focused to get the job done willed us to a victory,” Burnett-Kurie said.

Saint Benedict came out with a strong attack in the second period and eventually cut the lead to 2-1 at the 54th minute from a breakaway goal by Taylor Ledin, her team-leading 10th of the season.

Despite being outshot by a margin of 10-3 in the second half by the Blazers, the Gustie defense stood strong. Goalkeeper Ashley Becker tied a season-high with nine saves, including five in the second half to record her sixth win of the season.

“Becker came up huge. She controlled the box and came off her line well. At the end of the day, the team figured it out,” Burnett-Kurie said.

On Saturday, Gustavus heads to Arden Hills, Minn. to face Bethel University at 1 p.m., looking to move up further in the MIAC with another win.