Allison Fajt – Staff Writer

A four game losing streak by Gustie women’s soccer was broken by First-year Gabriela Rodriguez on Saturday as she scored with 10:25 minutes left in the game. With the final score 2-1 the team beat the Concordia Moorhead Cobbers in a MIAC game at their home turf. The win leaves the Gusties with a 5-7 record.
“During training we push one another to try new things but also gain that confidence of knowing that you’re on the team for a reason and that we’re all very talented. So I think building that trust between one another really helped us connect passes better and have an overall better flow to the game than we previously had,” Senior Katie Ashpole said.
“Building that trust between one another really helped us connect passes better and have overall better flow…”

Not only did the Gusties end their losing streak, but also broke their no-score streak in the previous four games. At Saint Benedict they lost 0-5, a 0-1 home loss against Saint Mary’s, then two 0-2 losses to St. Catherine and UW-La Crosse.
“Coming off of a couple of tough losses, we have really been excited and been looking forward to a win. I think in these last two weeks we’ve been focusing on just building confidence in one another,” Ashpole said.
The Gusties started their comeback fast with a 4:05 goal by Senior Page Cocciarella with an assist from Ashpole. Their four game no-score streak finally ended.
“We had just won the ball and we were dribbling into our attacking third and one of my teammates played the ball in between two of their defenders and I got on it and pretty much dribbled at the goal towards the end line. Then I cut it back and passed it across in between the six and the goal and Page was there and she just got a foot on it, and pretty much passed it in,” Ashpole said.
Concordia wasn’t going to give them an easy win, tying up the game the Cobbers scored in the first half to make the score 1-1. The Gusties had to make a goal in the second half in order to break their losing streak. “I went in there and we only had ten minutes left– And going in you know you have to make something out of the remaining time,” First-year Lillian Selberg said. With an assist from Selberg, Rodriguez’s winning shot brought the Gusties ahead to a score of 2-1.
“They were a pretty good team. It was hard to move up the ball at times but I think when we focused on our principles and our possession and passing with each other we were able to show that we were the dominant team,” Rodriguez said.
It was a memorable win for the First-year duo. Not only was their goal a game winner but Selberg’s first collegiate assist and Rodriguez’s first collegiate goal.
“It’s all in the moment, I remember hearing on the sidelines hearing my teammates saying ‘You’re gonna get a goal, you’re gonna score now’ and then we got the opportunity, Lillian crossed it in front of the goal. When I hit it and saw it go in, it was just an amazing feeling,” Rodriguez said.
“In the past few games we had been struggling to get the results we wanted. And going up to Concordia has always been a tough game because the weather’s not always great and the reffing isn’t always good either. As well as the four hour drive. It was really good for us because we hadn’t scored in a while either so to get two goals in and then come out with a win was great,” Selberg said.
“There definitely was a mental component to it all. Just trying to get over that barrier but what we decided on as a team was that we were just going to focus on what we were good at and like why we enjoy playing soccer. I think that really helped us get this win,” Rodriguez said.
The Gusties are currently 2-4 in the MIAC with five conference games left to play. “Everyone makes it in the playoffs so we still have a second chance. We know what we did wrong in these last few games,” Selberg said.