The St. Olaf women’s soccer team opened its MIAC season with a clash against Bethel University on Rolf Mellby Field on Sept. 16.
The Oles scored early in both periods of the game and dominated throughout. The game ended with a strong 2-0 victory, opening up the Oles’ MIAC campaign in a positive fashion.
St. Olaf started the game strongly and was rewarded in the fifth minute when Emily Helle ’18 scored a rebound goal off a corner kick. The goal was assisted by Emily Sierakowski ’16. Despite both teams’ efforts to further their advantages, neither scored for the remainder of the first half. Going into the break, the Oles held a 6-5 advantage in shots.
Any chance the Royals had of making a comeback was dashed in the 52nd minute when Ava Olson ’17 scored her first goal for the season on an assist from Kajsa Brindley ’16. The Oles domi- nated the remainder of the game, having six shots to the Royals’ two in the second period, but were unable to increase their tally. Goalkeeper Ruth Hesse ’16 made four saves to register a clean- sheet for the Oles.
Following the clash, the Oles fell 0-3 in their second MIAC battle against the College of Saint Benedict.
They will return to home action on Sept. 27 with another MIAC clash against Concordia College. The contest shapes up to be a tough encounter, as the Oles narrowly defeated the Cobbers in overtime last time the two teams faced off. A win is crucial for St. Olaf if it wishes to replicate its strong 2013 season, in which the Oles qualified for the conference playoffs.
Photo Credit: MADISON VANG/MANITOU MESSENGER
