Blazin' Sunday: The Saint Benedict soccer team (11-2-1, 7-2-0 MIAC) will play its second game in as many days today (Oct. 27) when it hosts the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugolds (7-7-3, 4-3-1 WIAC). The Blugolds are currently ranked fourth out of nine teams in the WIAC. Against teams that both squads have played this year the Blugolds are 3-5-3. The Blazers have gone 8-1-1 in games against common opponents.
About the Blugolds: The Blugolds opened the season playing on the road in Minnesota, and went 2-1-2 over their first five games, all played against MIAC opponents. Since then they have gone 5-6-1 and sit fourth in their conference standings. They come in boasting the best offensive threat in the WIAC (2.29 goals per game), but also the conference's most porous defense (they have given up 2.29 goals per game). They are led by sophomore forward Caroline Henderson who leads the WIAC with nine goals and 18 points.
Last Year: In 2012 the Blazers traveled to Eau Claire with a chance to break into the national rankings with a win. The Blazers got down early, when then-junior Alli Stone snuck a ball pass then-sophomore
Megan Favorite in the 16th minute to put the Blugolds up 1-0. The Blazers turned on the heat in the second half, outshooting the Blugolds 9-to-5 in the period. Those shots paid off in the 61st minute, when a young first-year forward named
Aly Hoffman (Chaska, Minn.) scored her first career goal off a pass from then-junior
Colleen Bouchard (Cedar Rapid, Iowa). The Blazers were unable to strike again however, and the game ended in a 1-1 double overtime tie.
The Storyline: Can the Blazers take advantage of a late-season non-conference game to build some momentum going into their final regular season games against St. Catherine's and Concordia? They are currently tied for first in the conference standings along with Macalester and will need to win out in order to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the MIAC playoffs.
Who to Watch: With two assists yesterday, senior forward
Colleen Bouchard (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) increased her career assist total to 31, just three shy of tying Katie Snyder's ('98) 15-year-old record of 34. Her 11 assists this season are tops in the conference, while her 23 points rank fourth among the conference leaders. Sophomore forward Grace Vaughan (Shakopee, Minn.) continues to lead the Blazers with seven goals this season. Fellow sophomore
Aly Hoffman (Chaska, Minn.) trails not far behind with a season total of six. First-year keeper Heather Kaluzniak (Plymouth, Minn.) leads the MIAC in save percentage with a 0.875 mark. Her 0.80 goals against average are second-best in the conference.
Last Time Out: Yesterday the Blazers hosted Saint Mary's on a sunny afternoon in St. Joe. The Blazers took the lead in the 22nd minute when first-year forward Taylor Hedin (Andover Minn.) redirected a pass from Bouchard into the net. Just one minute later sophomore forward
Valerie Clintsman (Maplewood, Minn.) added another goal, again assisted by Bouchard, that gave the Blazers a quick two-goal lead. The Cardinals added one goal early in the second from senior forward Bethany Schmidt but were unable to complete the comeback. The final score had the Blazers winning 2-1.
