MORRIS, Minn. –
Roxy Veldman got her senior season with the College of Saint Benedict soccer team off to a fast start Wednesday night in Morris.
Veldman recorded the first hat trick of her career to lead the Bennies to a 10-0 nonconference win over Minnesota-Morris to start the Fall 2021 season. Veldman was one of three CSB players to record multiple goals in the shutout. Sophomores
Erica Golenzer and
Caralyn Conners both scored two goals in the game, and both Conners and Veldman also notched an assist.
Ten goals is the most in a game for the Saint Benedict soccer program since Sept. 5, 2004, when CSB beat Northland College 11-0 in St. Joe.
Veldman started the scoring for CSB (1-0) in the third minute of the game. That would have been enough, but the Bennie offense kept going. First year
Sydney Burns notched the first goal of her collegiate career at the 9:30 mark off assists from
Grace Navara and Conners, and Conners notched a goal of her own nine minutes later in the 18
th minute off an assist from
Abby Willenbring.
Conners' goal marked the first of four goals within eight minutes for CSB. Conners scored her second goal of the game in the 20
th minute to put CSB up 4-0, Willenbring scored an unassisted goal in the 23
rd minute and Golenzer scored her first goal of the game in the 26
th minute. Veldman and Burns assisted on Conners' second goal and Willenbring added a second assist to her stat line on Golenzer's goal.
Golenzer's goal marked the end of the scoring for the first half, but Veldman got the offense going again early in the second half. She scored 26 seconds into the second half off an assist from
Clara Noack, and completed the hat trick in the 50
th minute with an unassisted goal. Her hat trick marks the first for CSB since Megan Thompson in 2019.
Clair Lehmann made it 9-0 in the 64
th minute off an assist from first year
Emma Young, and Golenzer picked up her second goal of the game in the 78
th minute off an assist from
Ellie Wohnoutka.
Saint Benedict outshot the Cougars 38-4, including 19-1 in shots on net. Junior goalie
Paige Kahlmeyer got the start and the win in net, and she made the team's only save of the game. First year goalies
Annie Waters and
Natalie Welinski split time in net in the second half.
CSB is back in action and plays at home for the first time Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4 and 5. Saint Benedict hosts Wartburg at 1 p.m. Saturday and UW-Whitewater at 2 p.m. Sunday in a pair of nonconference games at the OAC.