| LIVE STATS |
On the Road Again: The Saint Benedict soccer team (9-1-1, 5-1-0 MIAC) will pack their bags again today (Oct. 15) and travel to St. Paul, Minn. to take on the St. Thomas Tommies (6-6-0, 3-3-0 MIAC) to round out their two-game road trip before returning to St. Joe this Saturday. The Blazers are currently sitting at second place in the MIAC standings but would vault into first with a win. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
About the Tommies: After being picked to finish fourth by the MIAC coaches, the Tommies have started slowly, currently sitting at eighth on the conference leaderboard. Since the MIAC season began they are 3-3, including a 1-0 shutout loss to Bethel, the same team that the Blazers beat 7-0 on Saturday. They are led by senior forward Jaclyn Glaser who leads the team with three goals, three assists, and nine points.
Last Year: A year ago the Blazers blasted through the Tommies, 3-1 in St. Joe, snapping a three-game losing streak. After the win they would go undefeated over their next six games en route to clinching the fourth seed in the MIAC playoffs. After getting down 1-0 early that day, then first-year forward
Aly Hoffman put the Blazers on the board, tying the game at one goal apiece. Just 12 minutes after tying the game, Hoffman struck again, this time with the game-winning goal assisted by sophomore midfielder
Peggy Renier. The Blazers would go on to get another goal from then junior
Kaitlyn Lauer and win the game 3-1.
The Storyline: Can the Blazers continue to perform at a high level on the road? This game will be their eighth road game of the season already, compared to just four home contests. Despite this, they boast a 6-0-1 record on the road, with the lone tie coming in their season opener on the road against Wisconsin-Whitewater. If they can escape this game unscathed they will have three straight home games to look forward to, starting this Saturday against Augsburg.
Who to Watch: The three-headed monster of senior forward
Colleen Bouchard (Cedar Rapids, Iowa), sophomore forward
Aly Hoffman (Chaska, Minn.), and sophomore forward Grace Vaughan (Shakopee, Minn.) combined for five goals and 13 points in a lopsided 7-0 victory over Bethel last Saturday. Vaughan now sits fifth among the conference leaders with seven goals on the season. Hoffman trails not far behind with six goals to her credit this year. Bouchard continues to lead the team in points (18) and leads the conference with eight assists. She is averagin 0.73 assists per game, ranking 12th in the NCAA. First-year keeper Heather Kaluzniak (Plymouth, Minn.) recorded the fifth shutout of her career on Saturday. Her 0.67 GAA and 0.897 save percentage both rank as tops in the MIAC this season.
Last Time Out: On Saturday the Blazers traveled to Arden Hills and did away with the Bethel Royals, sending them down 7-0 with a season-high seven goals. They managed to create a season-high 22 shots while allowing the Tommies only nine shot throughout the entire game. Scoring for the Blazers were Vaughan (2), Hoffman (2), Bouchard, senior midfielder
Laura Kosch, and first-year forward Taylor Hedin.
