ST. PETER, Minn. — If Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer coach Neil Cassidy was concerned about his Cardinals having "bus legs" early in their showdown at Gustavus Wednesday afternoon, Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) quickly eased his worried mind.
 
Dup scored just two minutes into the opening half to give Saint Mary's a quick 1-0 advantage over the host Gusties in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
 
Unfortunately, Dup's first-half goal was all the offense the Cardinals could muster, as Gustavus rattled off a pair of unanswered goals in handing Saint Mary's a 2-1 setback at Gustie Soccer Field.
 
For the second game in a row, the Cardinals grabbed a first-half lead, as Dup—who scored one of Saint Mary's two goals in the opening 45 minutes of last Saturday's 4-2 loss at Bethel—took a feed from Anna Taylor (St. Paul, Minn.) and beat GAC goalkeeper Ashley Becker just two minutes in.
 
Maddison Ackiss pulled the Gusties even with her second goal of the year at the 18-minute mark, and then tallied season goal No. 3 just 2:31 into the second half to give Gustavus the lead for good.
 
Gabriella Peterson (Chaska, Minn.) took the loss in goal for the Cardinals, as the freshman finished with one save. Becker also made one stop in goal for Gustavus.
 
The Cardinals (0-4-0 MIAC, 2-6-1 overall) are back in action on Saturday, returning home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 3:30 p.m. conference matchup against Concordia.