Teddy Kaste-

This past weekend, the Gustavus Women’s Soccer Team picked up a crucial inter-conference win over the Bethel Royals, defeating them 3-1. The Gusties played on the road in Arden Hills, where they silenced the Bethel crowd. This victory marks Gustavus’ sixth consecutive win against Bethel, moving the team to an 8-4-5 record overall and 3-4-3 in MIAC play, edging them closer to the playoff race and continuing their streak against their rival.

The game started with Gustavus on the attack, as Junior Cambelle Waldspurger fired three shots on goal in quick succession. However, the Bethel goalie saved each attempt. 17 minutes into the game, Bethel had its first scoring opportunity and capitalized on it, sending the Bethel fans into a frenzy with the game’s opening goal.

Bethel held onto their 1-0 lead for over 20 minutes as the ball bounced across the field. At the 41-minute mark, Gustavus found the equalizer when Senior Lillian Selberg scored a crucial goal, assisted by fellow Senior, Jordan Oelkers. The teams entered halftime tied at 1-1, leaving the second half wide open and both teams hungry for a win.

As the second half began, both teams fought hard for the go-ahead goal, creating multiple chances on both sides, though shots were either narrowly missed or saved. In the 69th minute, Oelkers assisted Senior Ellen Becken, who fired the ball into the net to give Gustavus a 2-1 lead, deflating the Bethel crowd. Remarkably, Becken had been presenting at an academic conference in Las Vegas just 24 hours earlier, exemplifying the commitment of a true student-athlete.

With momentum on their side, Gustavus stayed aggressive, and only three minutes later, Becken passed to Oelkers, who buried the ball in the Bethel net, extending the lead to 3-1 and sending the Bethel fans into despair.

With an 18-minute cushion, Gustavus only needed to avoid any lapses to secure the win, and the Women’s Soccer Team held strong to shut down Bethel, clinching the 3-1 victory on the road.

Senior midfielder Callie Patraw said of the team, “This year’s team has an extremely special factor to it being that there are 10 seniors on the team. 1/3 of the team is seniors so that gives us extra motivation to continue the season and our college careers. More than every other year, the team has all been on the same page. Everyone has been extremely supportive of each other and we have learned how to work with each other’s emotions. People know how to calm each other down and when to hype each other up. This is just the most supportive team and that has allowed us to work so well together. Even though we started out the season slow, we stayed motivated to keep going and never let the scores or the rankings get us down.”

Gustavus has one regular season game remaining on the road in Duluth against St. Scholastica. With a record of 0-13-4, St. Scholastica will be motivated to avoid a winless season. Meanwhile, Gustavus also has motivation, as they must win this game to secure a spot in the MIAC playoffs, where they hope to carry their recent momentum.