St. Joseph, Minn. – The Saint Benedict soccer team came out firing today (Oct. 5) and took a 3-1 win over visiting Carleton.
 
This win comes as momentum builder, as the Blazers (8-1-1, 4-1-0 MIAC) were coming off their first loss of the season against Macalester earlier in the week. With the win today, the Blazers remain tied for first place with 12 points and a 4-1 conference record.
 
After the Knights (5-5-1, 3-2-1 MIAC) scored early in the match, the Blazers responded with three unanswered goals starting with Peggy Reiner's (Plymouth, Minn.) goal, which was her second of the season. The Knights responded with five consecutive shots, but they weren't enough to get through Heather Kaluzniak (Plymouth, Minn.) in the net.
 
Taylor Hedin (Andover, Minn.) scored the next goal – her first of the season – for the Blazers to take a 2-1 lead. The goal came at the end of the first half with the assist coming from Reiner. After six more shots by the Blazers, Laura Kosch (Eden Prairie, Minn.) put the nail in the coffin for the Knights with a goal to give her team the 3-1 lead. It was her second goal of the season.
 
In a very shot-friendly game, the Blazers finished with a season high of 22 shots in the match. Colleen Bouchard (Cedar Rapids, Minn.) and Aly Hoffman (Chaska, Minn.) led the Blazers today with four shots each, while Reiner and Kosch each added another three.
 
Kaluzniak played a solid game in the net, racking up eight saves and allowing just the one goal. It's the third time this season that Kaluzniak has reached the eight save mark.
 
The Blazers will head out to St. Paul next Saturday (Oct. 12) to face off against Bethel at 1 p.m. From here, the Blazers will head back to St. Paul to play St. Thomas next Tuesday (Oct. 14) before coming home for three consecutive games. The Blazers will finish their season with six MIAC matchups out of their last seven games.