In what will be perhaps their biggest game of the year thus far, the No. 21 College of Saint Benedict soccer team will travel to Minneapolis Saturday, Oct. 18, to take on the Auggies of Augsburg College. The Blazers are currently in second-place in the MIAC standings, but have played one game less than first-place Concordia. With Concordia's loss to Bethel on Wednesday, the Blazers are now in position to control their own destiny.

The Schedule:

Saint Benedict at Augsburg, 7 p.m., Oct. 18th, Minneapolis, Minn.

 

The Records:

CSB: 12-2 (6-1-0 MIAC) (5-1 Away)

AUG: 9-4 (5-2 MIAC) (4-1 Home)

Who to Watch:

CSB:

Jr. F Aly Hoffman (Has scored in back-to-back games, fifth in MIAC with 17 points)

Jr. F Gracie Vaughan (Has assists in three straight games)

Jr. D Ellie Mullen (Vocal leader has led Blazer defense to three straight shutouts)

AUG:

Sr. M Molly Allen (Leads conference with 11 assists)

Sr. F Olivia Muyres (Leads conference with 28 points)

Jr. F Marie Fitzgerald (Tied with Muyres for team lead with ten goals)

The Storyline:

A chance to control their own destiny is on the line for the Blazers. After this game they have only one game left against potential MIAC playoff teams. A win against the Auggies vaults them into first-place and means they only need to beat St. Catherine (3-4 MIAC), St. Mary's (0-6-1 MIAC) and then come out with at least a draw against second-place Concordia (6-1-1 MIAC) to repeat as conference champions. A loss would keep them in second-place and make the race to the top of the MIAC standings a wide-open one.

About the Auggies:

Picked to finish tied for fifth in the conference, the Auggies started their season with a bang, outscoring their opponents 18-0 in their first two games. After winning their first three conference games, they have since dropped games only to Concordia and Carleton. Their high-powered offense is led by Muyres, who is second in the conference in both goals and assists. Their conference-leading 2.8 goals per game are almost an entire goal better than second-place St. Mary's (2.0).

Last Year:

In 2013 the Auggies came to St. Joe and suffered a dramatic 2-1 overtime loss to the Blazers. The score was tied at 0-0 until the 88th minute, when sophomore forward Piper Murray took a pass from Hoffman at the top of the six-yard box and rifled it into the net, seemingly giving the Blazers the game-winning goal. Just 30 second later however, Muyres broke past the Blazer defense and tied the game 1-1. As time was waning in the first overtime period, Taylor Hedin took a pass from Colleen Bouchard at the 18-yard box and put in the game-winning goal.

Last Time Out:

On Tuesday, the Blazers used a pair of quick goals in the second half to defeat St. Thomas by a 2-0 score. Hoffman scored a goal off an assist from Vaughan in the 57th minute, and then ran back down the field to assist a goal to junior midfielder Megan Lenz in the 58th minute. Sophomore keeper Heather Kaluzniak made three saves to preserve the shutout.

By The Numbers:

2.8 -- Augsburg averages a conference-leading 2.8 goals scored per game.