College of Saint Benedict Athletics

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - A competitive battle saw College of Saint Benedict's soccer team draw with Gustavus Adolphys College, 1-1, Saturday, Sept. 19. The draw puts the Bennies at 6-0-1 on the season, and 1-0-1 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play, while GAC goes to 1-4-2 (0-1-1 MIAC).  

 

As a team, Saint Ben's recorded a 32-6 lead in shots, including a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal, and a 6-0 edge in corner kicks. The Golden Gusties tallied the upper hand in saves, 11-0.  

 

CSB's lone goal of the game came from sophomore Elly Prairie (Blaine, Minn./Spring Lake Park), while first-year Mia Schellenberg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park) assisted on the score, the first helper of her young career. First-years Eva Gower (Plymouth, Minn./Orono) and Ella Verkinderen (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) led the team in shots with seven and five, respectively. 

 

The first opportunity of the game came on a shot from senior Avery Soli (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine). After booting a ball, Soli attempted to score on her own rebound, but the GAC goalkeeper came up with two clutch saves in the 10th minute to keep a clean sheet.  

 

Gower drove down the pitch and ripped off a shot, but once against the Golden Gusties came up with a save, this one coming in the 26th minute of action. 

 

Gustavus Adolphus looked to be setting up its first scoring opportunity with 15 minutes to play in the opening half when junior Gabby Fernholz (Rice, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice) made a clean slide tackle to tap the ball away from the Golden Gusties.  

 

A GAC foul gave the Bennies a free kick opportunity in the 36th minute. Schellenberg went back for the kick directly on the halfway line, sending the ball perfectly to Prairie near the net. Prairie controlled the pass, and booted a ball across her body while being tightly defended into the back right corner of the net. The score broke the stalemate, putting Saint Benedict in front with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.  

 

A pair of shots by sophomore Allison Cammerrer (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) were stopped in the final few minutes of the half, sending the Bennies into the break in front, 1-nil.  

 

Looking poised to tack on another goal for CSB, a shot by Soli veered just wide right to keep it a one-score game in the 55th minute.  

 

Once again, Saint Ben's looked ready to score, but Verkinderen's scoring attempt in the 66th minute was thwarted by a big save from Gustavus Adolphus. The first-year roped off another beautiful shot closely after, but it went just above the crossbar.  

 

GAC evened the score at 1-1, as a shot by Lauren Coy found the top part of the net.  

 

Saint Benedict found itself with opportunities in the final few minutes of the contest, but none could find the back of the net, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.  

 

The Bennies return to action Saturday, Sept. 26, as they head to St. Catherine University for a 1 p.m. game.