Coming off a 3-2 victory over the College of St. Catherine, the women's soccer team looks to build on its new positive momentum as they move deeper into their MIAC season.

As usual, the soccer season is a flurry of action, with the Oles playing four games in a span of seven days from last Saturday to this Saturday. Last Saturday the Oles fell to Saint Mary's University at home by a 0-2 score. On Monday the women rebounded with a 3-2 victory over St. Kate's. The team will keep busy all through the week with a Thursday game at Luther before heading to Hamline University on Saturday.

St. Olaf entered the St. Mary's game with an 0-2 record in the MIAC. After cleaning house on some weaker nonconference opponents, a tough schedule pitted the Oles against traditional conference powerhouses Macalester College and Gustavus Adophus College to open the MIAC season. The Oles dropped both games, by scores of 1-4 and 1-3. Senior captain Sarah Nelson commented on the difficult start to the season. "Gustavus and Macalester were tough losses because we outshot Macalester and dominated much of the game with Gustavus. Both games would have been huge upsets and would have shown the rest of the MIAC our squad's potential."

Knowing how much stronger this year's team is than in years past, the team looked forward to the rest of their MIAC schedule against some more beatable competition. Saturday's game against St. Mary's seemed a perfect way to turn the tide, as this year's Ole seniors have never beaten the Cardinals. But St. Mary's had some different ideas when they arrived at Mellby Field. Scoring once in each half, St. Mary's won 2-0 on the strength of their solid play on both sides of the field. "They always play a physical game, which we aren't used to, so it took us a while to get into the game," remarked Nelson.

St. Olaf played well at points, particularly in the beginning of the second half, but the women could not capitalize on their opportunities and get the ball into the net. Nelson expressed extreme dissappointment after the defeat. "Our loss to St. Mary's was even more frustrating [than Macalester and Gustavus]; we dominated the game and worked the ball around them but somehow ended up with a 0-3 record in the MIAC."

The loss to St. Mary's made Monday's home match against St. Kate's even more important. St. Kate's is not currently a member of the MIAC in women's soccer (they join in 2001) but some tough losses against difficult competition necessitated a strong rebound and an Ole win.

And win they did, coming out aggressively and scoring immediately en route to a 2-0 halftime cushion. Senior Kerry Kyollo was pleased with the Ole effort. "It was a great sign that we came out right away and scored--we've been trying to work on coming out strong at the beginning of the game."

The Oles opened the second half strong as well, scoring again to widen their lead to three goals. But St. Kate's would not lay down. The Wildcats bounced back to score two goals in less than ten minutes and bring the game within reach until the Oles put the clamps on at the end, sealing the 3-2 home victory. "We had some problems in the second half, but it came together at the end," said junior Hanni Wenker. "This was a necessary win after our three conference losses."

The win over St. Kate's also marks another major landmark in the Oles' season: the halfway point. With nine games down and a record of 5-3-1 overall, the team has only eight more contests to play, and they know the importance of buckling down and putting up some more wins. "This is a major turning point for us, the halfway point of the season," commented Kyollo.

Each game takes on extra importance now, including Thursday's game at Luther, although it is not a MIAC matchup. "The Luther game is very big for us," said Kyollo. "After tonight we realize how much." Wenker predicts an exciting soccer match in Decorah, but a very winnable one. "Luther is very similar to our squad in a lot of ways. It should be a pretty tough match-they've got lots of good players."

After the Luther match, the team returns to MIAC action at Hamline University on Saturday, a game they expect to control. On the heels of an important win against St. Kate's, women's soccer now enters its home stretch which will reveal whether this year's team can attain its preseason goal: a jump up in the MIAC standings.