WINONA, Minn. — As they say, "Better late than never."
But after watching his team's heartbreaking overtime loss to nationally ranked Macalester last Wednesday — a game in which SMU led 1-0 with 13 minutes remaining in regulation — Saint Mary's University women's soccer coach Eric Zimmerman must have felt like “late” would be “never.”
Saturday afternoon, however, the Cardinals finally gave their second-year head coach that elusive first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, as
Dana Winkler (Lake Geneva, Wis.) broke a scoreless tie in the game's 81st minute to lift SMU to a 1-0 win over St. Catherine at Ochrymowycz Field.
“It's nice to finally get that monkey off our backs,” said Zimmerman, whose team snapped a 15-game conference winless streak (0-13-2) with the win. “We've been playing very well, and this time around, the ladies were not going to be denied.
“Losing to Macalester was heartbreaking, but it was nice to see everyone bounce back and play so well today — they deserved this win.”
Zimmerman must have felt a strange sense of déjà vu early on Saturday, as the Wildcats were awarded a penalty kick with 19 minutes remaining in the first half.
Flashback to Wednesday: The Scots were awarded a PK late in the second half and converted it, as Emily Bardwell outguessed SMU goalkeeper Mariana Sanchez (Puebla, Mexico) to tie the game at 1-1 and force overtime.
Fast-forward to Saturday: The Wildcats were awarded a PK midway through the first half, and this time, it was Sanchez who had the last laugh, as she guessed right and made a diving save on the shot off the foot of SCU's Christina Paik to keep the game scoreless.
It would remain that way until the 81st minute, when Lauren Mazzuca (Maple Grove, Minn.), Amy Sibik (Onalaska, Wis.) and Winkler combined on a perfect one-two-three combination that resulted in Winkler's third goal of the season — and the Cardinals' first conference win since a 2-1 victory over St. Thomas on Oct. 24, 2007.
“This is a big win for us — it's been a long time coming,” said Zimmerman. “I'm very proud of the effort this team has been putting forth — they are really playing some good soccer, and it's nice to see them get rewarded for it.”
