ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – On an afternoon that looked more like mid-November than early October, the College of Saint Benedict soccer team's defense held up and its offense came through with a pair of goals in a 2-0 shutout of Gustavus Saturday.
 
The win keeps CSB unbeaten at home and in the MIAC with a 4-0-1 record in each case. The team is also 7-2-2 overall and is second in the conference with six games left in the regular season.
 
The first half was scoreless, although Saint Benedict had plenty of opportunities to change that. Megan Thompson had two shots on net early in the game, and Mara Flaherty had a shot on net and then a shot that went wide midway through the first half. The Gusties (2-10, 1-5) had two shots midway through the half, but Kendall Koenen made both stops to keep the game scoreless.
 
Mara Flaherty had back-to-back shots on net early in the second half, but it wasn't until the 65^th minute that someone was able to break the scoreless tie. Saint Benedict was awarded a corner kick at the 65:13 mark, and Haley Neumann got the ball and immediately put a shot on net. Gustavus keeper Ashley Becker made the save, but the ball came back out into play and, in the scrum, Sydney Sherek found the ball and put it in the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
 
Fifteen minutes later, Flaherty got the ball again and put a long shot on net, but that was saved. She got the rebound, however, and got the ball to Megan Thompson, who sent the ball low and to the left of Becker for her 12^th goal of the season. Twelve is the most goals in a season for any CSB soccer player since Taylor Hedin in 2016. Thompson now has 28 points, which is also the most for a CSB athlete since 2016.
 
Gustavus responded with a shot on net and several wide shots in the final minutes of the game, but Koenen was able to keep them out of and away from the net to preserve the shutout.
 
Saint Benedict finished with 18 shots to the Gusties' 11, and held a 12-5 edge in shots on net. Flaherty led CSB with six shots on net, Thompson had four and Roxy Veldman and Sherek both finished with two. Koenen stopped all five shots she faced for her second complete-game shutout of the season.
 
CSB is back in action and back on the road right away Tuesday, Oct. 15, when it heads to Minneapolis for a key MIAC contest against league-leading Augsburg. That game starts at 7:30 p.m.