ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Kendall Koenen made some big saves and her teammates had some key opportunities to find the back of the net on the other end of the field, but it wasn't quite enough as the College of Saint Benedict soccer team fell 1-0 to St. Olaf Saturday afternoon in St. Joseph.
 
After giving up a single goal in the 37^th minute – a long shot from well beyond the penalty area that curved from the right side of the net and over Koenen's left shoulder and into the back of the goal – Koenen made several key saves to keep her team in the game.
 
To start the second half, she had three straight saves, and she made a diving save across the left side of the net a short time later to keep the gap at 1-0.
 
Koenen's teammates gave the team opportunities to win as well. Grace Johnson had a shot on net in the first five minutes of the game that was saved, and the team had a string of shots either wide or blocked around the 20^th minute. Maren Nobel and Sydney Sherek both had shots blocked early in the second half, and Megan Thompson dribbled the ball up to the net and took a shot that was saved by Oles' keeper Brynne Davis midway through the second.
 
With about 15 minutes left to play, Mara Flaherty took a hard shot just outside the penalty area that was blocked by St. Olaf's defense, but Nicole Newman got the rebound and sent a shot in that arced over Davis and hit the top post of the goal before bouncing back and being kicked away. Johnson added another shot a few minutes later, but that was saved as well.
 
The two teams finished nearly even in total shots as St. Olaf had 17 and CSB had 15, but the Oles finished with a 10-4 edge in shots on net. Johnson's two shots on net led the team. Koenen finished the day with nine saves to bring her season total up to 34.
 
CSB is now 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the MIAC and plays two key games this week. The team is on the road Wednesday at a tough Augsburg squad, and hosts Bethel Saturday, Sept. 29.