Game Summary
WINONA, Minn. — Having to face one of the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while in the midst of a four-game losing streak in which your team has been outscored 19-0 is tough enough.
Add to that a healthy dose of Mother Nature at her worst — cold temperatures and a constant rain — and Wednesday was downright miserable for the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team.
And things didn't get much better once the game started, as Gustavus scored twice in the first half, then added three more goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half en route to a 5-0 victory over the Cardinals at Ochrymowycz Field.
"I certainly can't fault the effort," said SMU coach Dan Blank, whose team is still searching for its first win — and its first win — since their 1-0 win over Benedictine on Sept. 15. "These conditions were tough to play in – for both teams – but I thought we worked hard and we never gave up."
Renee Beaudry got the Gusties on the board at the 18:29 mark, beating SMU goalie Dianna Kyllo (Kasson, Minn.) on a penalty kick. Birabwa Mutebi made it 2-0 15 minutes later as Gustavus took a 2-0 advantage into the halftime break.
The 10-minute rest did nothing to cool the Gusties' engines as Britanee Pelikan scored twice in the first eight minutes of the second half, and Beaudry added her second of the game at the 51:01 mark to close out the scoring.
"Gustavus is a very good team," understated Blank of the Gusties, who improved to 2-1-1 in the MIAC and 7-1-1 overall. "They do such a nice job of controlling the ball and putting together a lot of nice attacks."
Something Blank wishes his Cardinals — who dropped to 0-3-0 in the MIAC and 1-9-0 overall — would do a little better.
"The biggest frustration right now is that we just aren't able to generate any offensive attacks, because we aren't able to string any passes together," said Blank, whose team was outshot 11-1 — with SMU's lone shot on goal coming early in the first half. "We've got to start doing a better job of moving the ball around — making good passes from point A to point B."
