The Saint Benedict soccer team took a big step in the right direction today (Oct. 3), as they improved their record to 3-3 in the MIAC and 4-4-2 overall with a feel-good win against the St. Thomas Tommies by a score of 3-1.
“We needed that,” head coach
Steve Kimble said after the win. “We needed to get our spirits up and get a little momentum the second half of the season. That was a big win for us against a really good team. St. Thomas is loaded so we're really happy with it.”
The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the home team, and was the first for the Blazers since Sept. 15, when they bested the Carleton Knights, 1-0. The loss drops the Tommies to 3-3 in the conference and 4-6 overall.
The game however, did not start out as well as it finished for the Blazers. The Tommies got on the board first, scoring mid-way through the first half off a goal by junior forward Kelsey Moll, her second of the year. Blazer sophomore keeper
Megan Favorite came out of the box to challenge Moll to secure a loose ball, but unfortunately Moll adeptly dribbled around her and tapped the ball in for a goal.
The Blazers responded quickly and expertly, not willing to allow that goal to turn into a fourth straight loss for a team that was picked to contend for a conference title. As has been the theme of the season so far, first-year forward Alyssa Hoffman scored the equalizer for Blazers, less than two minutes later.
The goal was set up by Hoffman's high school teammate, first-year forward
Peggy Renier, who is also having a fabulous first-year for the Blazers. Renier booted the ball off the Tommie keeper Tori Shepard before Hoffman grabbed the rebound and tapped it in for a goal.
Twelve minutes later, Hoffman and Reiner stuck again, scoring with just five minutes left in the half. A few yards out of the top of the box Reiner tapped the ball to Hoffman who ripped a stunning one-timer into the top of the net, giving the Blazers a 2-1 lead. The goal was Hoffman's seventh of the year, vaulting her into a tie for third among the conference leaders.
The match went without another score until junior mid-fielder
Kaitlyn Lauer put the nail in the coffin for the Blazers, scoring off a well-placed corner by sophomore
Heidi Hanson. The goal was Lauer's first of the year, and came with just over 10 minutes remaining in the match.
“It'd been a long time coming,” Lauer said of the goal. “One of my favorite things to do is score off of corners so it's nice to start finally putting them in.”
The Blazers will now look to carry the momentum into the rest of their current five-game home stretch, starting this Saturday (Oct. 6) when the welcome St. Catherine at 1 p.m.
“We've got a little bit of luck on our side now,” Kimble said. “Some of what we've been taking is actually going in. It's all kind of come together and that's what we knew was going to happen. We have to keep it moving, we have to stay on a roll now.”
Soccer v. St. Thomas Gallery
