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Ole Women Place Second In Weekend Tournament

Anna Rehder
September 11, 2001

Minus earthquakes and unexpected traffic delays, the St.Olaf women's soccer team's trip to southern California was extraordinarily successful starting the season 2-0.

On Saturday, September 8, the Oles took the field in Redlands, California against Greensboro College of North Carolina. The first goal of the game cam in the 42nd minute with a cross from Katy Jensen (Sr, Tucson, Ariz.), which was finished by Stacey Gauger (Sr, Bloomington, Minn.). The next goal did not come until the beginning of the second half and was put away by Greensboro. That was the last time they saw the back of the net. The tide then swept back in the Oles favor as they ended up with three more goals. In the 52nd minute, Sarah Cornell (FY, Minnetonka, Minn.) drove a long shot from the corner of the penalty box over the keepers head. At the 62nd minute mark, Brie Messick (So,Hastings, Minn.) broke free and scored with a quick shot slotted just by the goalie. The final goal came in the 77th minute off the foot of Becca Loerch (Jr, Apple Valley, Minn.). The shot was drilled from well outside the 18 yard marker and floated right over the keeper's head. The final score was a 4-1 victory for the Oles. Elizabeth Brandell (So, Apple Valley, Minn.), goalie for St. Olaf, racked up 7 saves. St. Olaf had a total of 15 shots to Greensboro's 12.

The next day, Sunday, September 9, the St. Olaf women faced William Patterson of New Jersey. The end result was once again a victory for the Oles, but the path this time contained a few more bumps. Once again the Oles lead off the scoring. The through ball came from Kristi Parks (So, Plymouth, Minn.) in the 25th minute and found the foot of Messick who ended the breakaway with a goal. The Oles added some insurance to their lead 13 minutes later with a rather confusing goal. Three shots were taken in a matter of a few seconds, all seemingly destined for the back of the net. The only one that was not intercepted by the goalie was the third shot off Gauger's foot. The pervious shots by Messick and Emily Klamm (Fr, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) were close enough to get the bench off its seats ready to celebrate the newly expanded lead. That lead didn't prove to be enough because at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, William Patterson managed to bring the game to a tie with two goals of their own. A beautiful save by Brandell off the penalty kick kept Patterson from ever taking the lead. The final goal in the 74th minute concluded the scoring and gave St. Olaf the victory. It came on another through ball to Messick, which she put away, this time the feed coming from Carolyn Detjen (Jr, Juneau, Ak.). The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Oles. Brandell grabbed 6 saves for the game and the team came away with 7 shots but were out shot by William Patterson who had 16.

The two wins gave the Oles a second place finish in the tournament. The Oles next game is at 4:00pm on Wednesday, September 12th in River Falls, Wisconsin.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.