DULUTH, Minn. – In the inaugural meeting as conference opponents, the Gustavus women's soccer team defeated St. Scholastica 4-1 Tuesday in the MIAC opener. The Gusties improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the MIAC, while the Saints drop to 0-4-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.
St. Scholastica gained the early momentum with a goal in the sixth minute, but it didn't take long for the Gusties to answer as
Page Cocchiarella (Sr., Owatonna) scored at the 8:54 mark with the help of
Rachel Rehnelt (Sr., Albert Lea). Three minutes later,
Katie Ashpole (Sr., Chaska) scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season, which proved to be the game-winner. Rehnelt assisted on that goal as well.
In the 24th minute, Cocchiarella scored her second goal of the game, assisted by
Kenna West (Sr., Owatonna), and the Gusties held a 3-1 advantage at halftime.
"We were excited and ready for our first conference game of the year," Head Coach
Laura Burnett-Kurie said. "It was exciting to play St. Scholastica for it as well since we have not played them in the past 10 years, so they were a new team and a new challenge. They scored a great goal early in the first half, but we responded incredibly well by putting away two opportunities right away to take the lead. From there, we continued to focus on our Gustie tempo, adding layers to our game and working as a collective group. Our hard work paid off, when Page scored her second of the game.
"At halftime, we made some adjustments and talked about how we didn't want to take our foot off the pedal. We had a fantastic team goal in the second half. After Rachel and Poppen linked up near midfield, Rachel showed pure drive and courage to get on the end of a great cross from from Poppen. Our team really stepped up today and it was fantastic to see the depth of our bench."
Rehnelt scored her third and fourth points of the game in the 58th minute, tallying her first goal of the season with Kristin Poppen (Fy., Verona, Wis.) on the assist.
The Gusties outshot the Saints 13-6 in the game as
Abby Goodno (Sr., Little Canada) made two saves in goal.
"Winning a MIAC game is never an easy task; our team came together, trusted one another and put together 90 minutes that was a joy to watch," Burnett-Kurie said. "We are excited to continue improving and for our next tough battle on Saturday."
Gustavus continue MIAC play Saturday at home against Carleton. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
