St. Catherine University Athletics

After suffering a tough loss to regionally-ranked UW-Whitewater last Sunday, the St. Catherine University soccer team needed to pick up a win to build confidence as it heads into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play next week.
 
And the Wildcats got just what they needed with a huge 4-0 over UW-Superior in rainy conditions Saturday afternoon at home to improve to 2-2 on the season.
 
The highlight of the day for the Wildcats came when first-year Julia Zyla (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal off a pass from Lensa Gurmessa (Minneapolis, Minn.) with less than a minute to play in the game.
 
In addition to her second assist of the season, Gurmessa added the Wildcats' third goal of the game in the 79th minute on a pass from Elly Leyva (San Jacinto, Calif). With the goal, Gurmessa is now tied for sixth in the MIAC in points (8) and lead s all Wildcats thanks to her second multiple-point performance of the season.
 
The Wildcat scoring began in the 29th minute when a goalkeeper collision led to an own goal from UW-Superior. Junior Nina Bukowski (Two Harbors, Minn.) then gave the Wildcats an insurance goal with less than two minutes to play in the first half with a little help from Ellen Kokes (Bloomington, Minn.) and Kelly Molitor (Lakeville, Minn.).
 
In goal, junior Abbey Hinton (St. Paul, Minn.) earned her first collegiate shut out and win of the season making two saves.
 
The Wildcats return to action on their home field Tuesday to begin conference play against reigning MIAC champion Concordia College at 4 p.m.