St. Olaf Women’s Soccer continues their win streak

St. Olaf Women’s Soccer has started off their season strong. They are currently at 10-1-1 (wins-losses-ties) and are on a winning streak of five. Recently, the women’s soccer team defeated Gustavus Adolphus College and the College of Saint Benedict.

 On Wednesday, Oct. 1, the Oles defeated the Gusties on home turf. Megan Timmerman ’26 and Emily Johnson ’27 put St. Olaf on the board with the first two goals of the game. In the second half, Wren VanDeWalker ’27 extended St. Olaf’s lead with a long-range shot into the top left corner, making the score 3-0. 

On Saturday, Oct. 4, St. Olaf competed against College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn. The game stayed scoreless until captain Marit Klagge ’26 netted her fifth goal of the season with five minutes remaining. This became the fifth consecutive shutout game for the Oles this season. 

According to St. Olaf Women’s Soccer Captain Cat Duffy-Shaw ’26, the team’s cohesion has contributed to their great success. To prepare for the season, the team spent the vast majority of the first two weeks of the year together. This time built their team chemistry and bridged the divide between class years. 

“Everyone is comfortable coming to literally anyone else on the team for anything,” Duffy-Shaw said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. 

This makes the relationships between the players both strong on and off the field. While playing on the field, she said that they are all “150% committed.” Duffy-Shaw claims the team has found a balance between creating moments of fun and training hard that drives their success.

Not only do the players contribute to the great team culture, but the coaches are a large part of it as well. 

“[The coaches] have done a really great job of setting the standard for [the team’s] culture, making sure that we come first as people, and then students, and then athletes,” Duffy-Shaw said. 

St. Olaf Women’s Soccer’s next home game will take place during Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Rolf Mellby Field against Bethel University.