Senior Tam Meuwissen scored twice on Saturday afternoon, leading the Gusties to a 3-0 victory over Crown
St. Bonifacius, Minn. - The Gustavus women’s soccer team won its second consecutive match on Saturday afternoon in a 3-0 triumph over Crown College. The Gusties even their record at 2-2-0 on the season. Crown also moves to 2-2-0 on the year.
After out-shooting Crown 20-0 in the first 45 minutes, a scoreless first half gave way to three Gustie goals after the intermission on the way to a Gustavus victory. For the second straight game, the Gustie defense stymied the opposing attack. Senior keeper Jessica Richert (Freeburg, Ill.) was not tested in goal, as Crown was unable to get a shot off against the Gustavus defense.
“The team played very well against Crown. We were able to come out from the start and, despite the fact we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net in the first half, we were still dangerous in the final third, and created numerous scoring opportunities,” stated head coach Laura Burnett-Kurie. “Our defense was also strong and consistent all over the field.”
Senior Tam Meuwissen (Chanhassen, Minn.) scored twice to lead the Gusties offensively, recording her second and third goals of the season. Her first goal of the contest came in the 54th minute when a cross from Emily Papagapitos (Jr., Maplewood, Minn.) resulted in a header from Meuwissen sneaking past Storm goalkeeper Hillary Brondsema and into the back of the net. The Chaska High School product’s second score came in the 72nd minute with an assist from Brittany Chase (Fy., Victoria, Minn.). It was Chase’s turn to score just over a minute later, as the first-year midfielder headed the ball into the goal off of a corner kick by Leah Brossoit (Jr., Rochester, Minn.). Chase’s goal wrapped up the scoring for the afternoon as the Gustie women cruised to the 3-0 victory.
“All three goals were fantastic,” said Burnett-Kurie. “We had great movement on and off the ball, which was fun and exciting to watch.”
Gustavus will look forward to Wednesday evening when it plays host to St. Olaf College in the first match of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play in St. Peter. Kick off for that match is set for 4:00 p.m. on the Gustie Soccer Field. The Gustie women look for redemption after a 3-0 loss to the Oles in Northfield a season ago.
“We are looking ahead to the start of conference play against St. Olaf on Wednesday,” said Burnett-Kurie of Wednesday night’s match up. “The MIAC is a tough conference. Every game will be a battle, which means our focus needs to be playing to our strengths and continuing to feed off of the confidence we have been building this season.”
