The Gustavus Women’s Soccer Team has played eight games this season and currently holds a season record of 4-3-1 and 1-1-1 in the MIAC.
The team is being led by Senior Captains Trina Rinke, Kylie Lamberty, and Chase Miller.
Lamberty appeared in 18 games in the previous season, and Miller notably led in point scoring for the team last season with five goals and three assists.
Rinke has made her return after being sidelined for the season due to going through treatment and rehabilitation for ovarian cancer and has been getting her rhythm back after being the Gusties starting defender since her first season.
Senior Emily Skogseth is very excited about Rinke’s return.
“Last season her absence was quite noticeable so we’re so glad to have her and her energy and attitude in the locker room, bus, and on the field,” Skogseth said.
“I’m pumped to be back on campus and playing soccer with the team again,” Rinke said. “We have a really solid team this year and we’re excited for our potential in conference play this season.”
Head Coach Laura Burnett-Kurie has been impressed by this year’s leaders.
“Our three captains are all great leaders, but they’re also different types of leaders for us, so it’s a good balance in that sense. One main thing we’ve established in our program is that everyone has the ability to lead, and it’s easy to see that as our young players start to gain more experience they start to step up leadership-wise,” Burnett-Kurie said.
Skogseth is also a solid returner, tallying nine points in 17 games last season and looks to finish off her Gustavus career strongly.
“Obviously that wasn’t the result we wanted but we had some shining moments.”
—Coach Burnett-Kurie
The Gusties will also continue to look to Junior Abby Mullenbach and Sophomore Lauren Johnson for a dependable offense.
The team also has some fresh faces with first-years Abby Goodno and Leah Pavlish as goalkeepers to fill the void of Senior All-American Ashley Becker who is out for the season due to an injury.
“We have a really deep team this season and look forward to having so many solid players on the team,” Coach Burnett-Kurie said, “Our goalkeepers have been really solid, and the battle for the position has been really competitive which really helps our training environment in practice and makes not only the goalkeepers better but makes everyone else better.”
Last Saturday the Gusties fell short against St. Thomas in overtime, finishing 2-1.
Skogseth had the play of the game for the Gusties by taking the ball on the right side of the field, crossing it into the box to Mullenbach, and bouncing it off her abdomen into the back of the net.
This gave the Gusties a lead in the first half, but St. Thomas fired back and returned the point, scoring 14 minutes into the second half bringing the game to overtime.
Less than a minute into overtime, the Tommies scored to take the contest. Goodno gave a strong performance nonetheless, making five saves in the match.
“We started out the game incredibly well. We looked crisp and engaged, and our goal was very well deserved,” Burnett-Kurie said. “The second half was exciting, and we turned it on near the end earning several corner kicks. Obviously that wasn’t the result we wanted, but we had some shining moments.”
The team suffered another loss on Wednesday, Sept. 26 against St. Olaf.
After conceding a goal in the first half, Gustavus responded in the 67th minute on a goal from Johnson.
Despite this effort, the Gusties let in another goal just seven minutes later, which proved to be a game winner for the Oles.
The women’s soccer team hopes to turn things around when they host Augsburg College, who are currently 4-2-1 overall and 2-1-0 in the MIAC, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26.