By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — It seemed only fitting that the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team's game against Gustavus — a contest that included a 30-minute injury delay and another 30-minute delay due to lightning — would need a little extra playing time to decide a winner.
 
Gustavus' Katie Ashpole, however, had other ideas.
 
Ashpole netted her second goal of the game with less than four minutes remaining in regulation, lifting the Gusties to a 2-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Cardinals Saturday at Gustie Soccer Field.
 
Saint Mary's struck first, as Nicole Thompson (Riverside, Calif.) netted her second goal as a Cardinal, taking a feed from Kendall Archer (Draper, Utah) and rifling a shot past Gustavus goalkeeper Ashley Becker just seven minutes into the first half.
 
The Cardinals would maintain that one-goal advantage until the 25-minute mark, when Ashpole scored her first of the game, beating Saint Mary's goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) to knot the game at 1-1.
 
And set up Ashpole's late-game Gustie heroics.
 
Pederson finished with four saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Becker stopped two of the three Saint Mary's shots she faced. Gustavus held a 16-5 advantage in shots attempted, including 6-3 in shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals (0-1-1 MIAC, 4-1-1 overall) step out of conference play on Wednesday, hosting UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.