St. Cloud State 2 Wayne State 1 OT
In a chilly afternoon at the WSC Soccer Pitch, it was the St. Cloud State Huskies that left the field with three points and a 2-1 overtime win in NSIC action. The result moves St. Cloud State to 3-3-3 on the year with a 3-1-2 conference mark while Wayne State falls to 1-6-1 and 1-4-1 in league play.
In a game of few chances, it was the Wildcats who struck first in the 13
th minute. Sophie Ketchmark got onto the scoresheet for the first time this season, after guiding the ball over the line from a
Natalie Rech throw in that bounced over the Huskies defense and goalkeeper. Rech tallied her second assist on the year, both coming from set pieces.
Wayne State was inches away from doubling their advantage only four minutes later.
Christina Stasi did well to create space and latch on to a volley just inside of the box before coming off the crossbar. The rebound fell favorably to
Rylie Wehner as she put the second shot off the crossbar in a matter of seconds.
Remaining action in the first half became a battle for possession in the midfield, with neither side creating more than one chance in the last 20 minutes of the half. The Wildcats outshot the Huskies 5-3 in the first half, while
Rachel Grisham recorded the only save in the opening 45 minutes.
In a relatively comfortable first 54 minutes of the game for the Wildcat defense, an appeal for a handball in the box was awarded and the center ref pointed to the penalty spot. St. Cloud's Maria Witte calmly passed the ball to the left netting, tying the game at 1-1. Chances came fewer than in the first half, and after 90 minutes, the teams headed into overtime to try to create a game-winner.
St. Cloud State turned out to be the side to find the winner in the 95th minute after Monica Majeski was sent through two-on-one with Grisham. Majeski passed across goal to Nicole Friis who had the easiest of tap-ins to send the Huskies home with a win.
Ketchmark and Wehner both had two shots for the Wildcats, while Grisham finished the day with two saves. Wayne State held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
The Wildcats will be at home again Sunday afternoon hosting Minnesota Duluth in a 12 p.m. NSIC contest at the WSC Soccer Pitch.