ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Megan Thompson had a record-setting week last week. But her big performances didn’t just help her move up in program history – they also proved crucial in securing a home playoff game for the College of Saint Benedict soccer team.
Thompson had three goals last week to take over as the program’s single-season goals leader with 17. Two of those goals proved to be game-winners to help CSB move from sixth to fourth in the MIAC standings and earn a home MIAC Tournament game. For her big week, Thompson is both the MIAC Athlete of the Week and the CSB Athlete of the Week.
This marks the third MIAC weekly honor of the season for Thompson and her fourth overall. She is the first Saint Benedict soccer play to earn more than two weekly honors in a career, and the first to earn two in a season since Colleen Bouchard in 2013. This also marks the first time CSB has had three MIAC Athletes of the Week in a season since 2002 when Megan McVoy, Mel Attema and Kate Aubrecht all earned the honor.
Thompson’s week started Wednesday when the team traveled to Arden Hills to take on Bethel. Only one of her five shots on net went in, but that was the only one that mattered in the team’s 1-0 win over the Royals. That marked goal No. 15 on the season, and it came with less than five minutes to play in the first half.
Saturday against Carleton, Thompson’s record-tying goal would have been enough for the Bennies, but she added a second goal later in the game just for good measure. After a quiet first half, Thompson scored just over a minute into the second, notching her 16
th goal of the season to tie the record. Marie Plaskett set the record in 1997, and McVoy tied it in 2003. That goal also proved to be the game-winner – Thompson’s eighth of the season, good for third in Division III.
Thirty minutes later, Thompson became the school’s single-season goals leader when she took a long pass from Clair Lehmann and, like she has plenty of times this season, beat the keeper and sent the ball low into the back of the net. Along with 17 goals, Thompson is also tied for third in school history with 38 points this season, and she is fifth in program history in career goals (33) and seventh in career points with 79.
Heading into the MIAC Tournament, Thompson leads the MIAC in points and goals. She and her teammates host the Knights again Tuesday in a 2 p.m. quarterfinal game. The winner of the contest moves on to face top-seeded Augsburg.
