ST. JOSEPH, MINN. – With three second half goals, including a pair from Alli Voss, the College of Saint Benedict Soccer Team (9-4, 5-2 MIAC, 2nd) registered a 4-1 win over Bethel University (3-6-3, 1-4-2 MIAC) on a rainy, windy afternoon at the CSB Soccer Field.

With the victory, the Bennies won for the seventh time in eight matches and moved into second place in the MIAC. CSB improved to 9-4 on the season and sit 5-2 in league play. At home, the Bennies have won five straight this year.

St. Ben's, which has the second most goals in the league at 32 and averaged 2.462 goals per match, have now scored four or more goals five times this season.

CSB Head Coach Steve Kimble was pleased with his team's performance in a match, which changed dramatically in the final 20 minutes.

"I'm always impressed with the grit of our team. They never ever quit. Today was another example of their persistence and heart," said Kimble, who team was ranked seventh in the most recent regional rankings (Oct. 5-11) by United Soccer Coaches (USC).
 

The Bennies opened the scoring at 17:32 of the first half on an unassisted goal by Erica Golenzer, who scored her second goal of the season to give CSB a 1-0 lead. Then, the defenses really dug in and controlled much of the match until about the 61-minute mark of  the second half. At that point, Bethel's leading scorer Sonia Meyer had her sixth goal of the season at the 61:51 mark.

Once again the defenses took control until Caralyn Conners converted a penalty kick for a 2-1 lead at the 72:20 mark. On the play, Connors scored her sixth goal of the season and with an assist, she has 17 points. With the momentum clearly on its side, CSB kept the pressure on and turned to the team's and the league's top goal scorer to add some insurance goals in the final minutes. At 84:48, Voss scored off an assist by Conners, for a 3-1 lead. Then, she tallied an unassisted goal at the 86:28 mark.

Voss, who had two goals on seven shots, including five on goal, now has 10 goals on the season in 13 matches to lead the MIAC. She is also second in shots on goal with 26 and is tied for the league-high in points with 22. This is the third time this season that Voss has scored a pair of goals in the same match.

Overall, CSB was the aggressor on offense with a 22-to-5 advantage in shots, including 12 in the opening half. Bethel had a pair of corner kicks but also was whistled for six fouls while CSB had just three.

Next up for the Bennies will be a pair of road matchups including a MIAC contest with Hamline University (3-6-4) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15. Then, CSB will travel to Waverly, Iowa to face No. 6 ranked Wartburg (12-0-2) which is ranked number one in Region IX by the USC. The match with Wartburg is set for 3 p.m.