NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College women's soccer team recorded its fourth consecutive shutout by blanking Gustavus Adolphus College, 3-0, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.
Senior
Megan Timmerman and junior
Emily Johnson tallied first-half goals before junior
Wren VanDeWalker capped the scoring in the second half to help St. Olaf (9-1-1, 3-0-1 MIAC) extend its unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) with the shutout of Gustavus (4-3-4, 1-2-1 MIAC). The victory also gave the Oles, who were ranked No. 5 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll, their best-ever record through 11 games to start a season.
The win kept St. Olaf in a tie with Carleton College for second place in the MIAC standings with 10 points, two behind conference-leading St. Catherine University and one ahead of the College of Saint Benedict, through four games.
In a game the Oles held commanding advantages in shots (31-3) and shots on goal (17-0), St. Olaf nearly opened the scoring inside the first three minutes when Johnson hit the crossbar for the first of two times in the opening 20 minutes. St. Olaf fired four shots and had five corner kicks before Timmerman opened the scoring in the 11th minute by dribbling into the box and firing the ball inside the far post from the right side for her third goal of the season.
After again hitting the woodwork in the 18th minute, Johnson netted her team-leading 11th goal of the season by lofting a shot over the Gustavus goalkeeper from the right side of the box in the 30th minute. The junior has scored nine goals in the Oles' last seven games and entered the day ranked in the top 10 nationally with 10 goals on the season.
VanDeWalker tallied the lone goal of the second half in the 62nd minute by unleashing a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in from the top of the box. The junior has recorded all seven of her goal contributions – three goals and four assists – in the last eight games.
Katelyn Olson made 14 saves in net for the Gusties to keep the score down, while first year
Charlotte Percy did not have a save to make in recording her fifth shutout in nine starts this season.
The Oles will play three of their next four games on the road, starting with a trip to Saint Ben's on Saturday, Oct. 4 for a 3:30 p.m. start.
