ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's soccer team fell behind early and was unable to recover in a 5-1 loss to St. Catherine University in a matchup of regionally-ranked Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foes on Tuesday at St. Kate's Soccer Field.
St. Kate's (9-3-1, 5-1-1 MIAC) scored two goals in the span of less than two minutes in the first 12-plus minutes as part of a four-goal first half on its way to its 10th consecutive victory over St. Olaf (9-2-3, 5-2-0 MIAC). The Oles were ranked No. 3 and the Wildcats were No. 6 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll.
First year
Aida Engle scored a late goal for St. Olaf, which fell to 0-13-1 against St. Kate's since the Oles' last win in the series in 2013. The Wildcats entered the game having scored just 16 goals in 12 games this season before exploding for four goals in the first 35 minutes.
St. Kate's scored goals on a free kick and a corner kick less than 90 seconds apart to jump out to an early 2-0 lead before Bella Meier scored two goals in the span of five minutes later in the half to give the hosts a 4-0 lead. Ceci Emery stretched the Wildcats' lead to 5-0 in the 72nd minute.
Engle grabbed a goal for the second game in a row for St. Olaf, as the first year scored from near the end line on the left side after senior
Wren VanDeWalker slipped a ball in behind to Engle. VanDeWalker's assist was her 11th of the season, adding to her single-season program record and NCAA Division III-leading total.
St. Kate's ended the game with a 15-12 edge in shots, including a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. The two teams combined for 28 fouls in the game, 18 on the Wildcats and 10 on the Oles. Sophomore
Charlotte Percy made five saves for St. Olaf in the loss.
The Oles will return to St. Paul to face Macalester College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.
