Press Releases
Knights Advance in NCAA Tourney with 2-0 Win
Nov 13, 2008
Press Release posted by Carleton Permalink
Northfield, Minn. – The Carleton women’s soccer team made a successful NCAA Championships debut, maintaining control from start to finish in recording a 2-0 victory over the College of St. Scholastica in the first round of the national tournament. The Knights (16-5) now travel to Tacoma, Wash. for a second-round matchup against the University of Puget Sound (18-1) on Sunday.
The teams had to contend with less than ideal playing conditions. On-and-off showers made footing on Bell Field an adventure at times
Sophomore midfielder Merritt Swain found enough solid footing to get Carleton on the board barely six minutes into the contest. After a poor clear by the Saints' defense, she blasted a long shot just under the crossbar for her first goal of the year.
Carleton kept constant pressure on St. Scholastica (20-3) throughout the match, finishing the day with a 27-2 advantage in shots and a 7-0 edge in corner kicks.
“1-0 isn’t a very secure place to be—we didn’t want to settle in at that because it’s kind of stressful,” senior forward Nicky Bloom said. “It just seemed like we wanted it a little more the whole game.”
Saints’ goalkeeper Erin Olejnicak turned aside 11 shots to keep St. Scholastica in the match as long as possible.
Early in the second half, the Saint’s Sarah Bertlette made a strong bid for the equalizer, but Carleton’s Kate Trenerry was equal to the task and made a spectacular leaping save.
Bloom tacked on an insurance goal with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. She took a cross from Cassie Burke in the 6-meter box, dribbled around a defender and Olejnicak before tapping the ball into the near corner.
“I thought I took a bad first touch and then had to recover to get it,” said Bloom. “I would have been happy to get on the first time, but it was really slippery in there and it took me four touches to get it in there.”
The victory was the ninth straight for Carleton, which increased its school-record win total. Meanwhile, the Saints saw their 15-match winning streak halted.
Despite playing in their first-ever NCAA Championships, the Knights showed no signs of nervousness and instead played a typical Carleton game.
“In the past two weeks, things have really clicked,” said Carleton head coach Keren Gudeman. “We’ve been battling some really tough teams throughout the season, and that has definitely built our confidence, as has recording shutouts in the last three games.”
St. Scholastica head coach Dave Reyelts conceded that today wasn’t his squad’s best performance of the season.
“I thought it took us a little while to adjust to the pace of play,” he said. “[Carleton plays] a little more service and the ball in the air, and obviously the conditions were set up more for being able to play the ball in the air. We play on [artificial] turf and with a little more controlled pace. Our conference teams don’t pressure us like Carleton did today. They came out and pressured us and got a great goal early–it was a great shot. I though the second half was a little bit better and tighter contest, but you have to give them credit for keeping possession and keeping it away and shutting down our better players. When we started to press forward, they got one at the end to seal the deal.”
The Knights are already preparing for Sunday’s matchup with the University of Puget Sound. The Loggers enter the contest on a 16-game win streak and haven't lost since Sept. 7.
“I know they’re a very good team,” said Gudeman, “It’s tournament time, though, and anything can happen, so we’ll learn what we can in the next two days and go out and be ready for a battle.”
The teams had to contend with less than ideal playing conditions. On-and-off showers made footing on Bell Field an adventure at times
Sophomore midfielder Merritt Swain found enough solid footing to get Carleton on the board barely six minutes into the contest. After a poor clear by the Saints' defense, she blasted a long shot just under the crossbar for her first goal of the year.
Carleton kept constant pressure on St. Scholastica (20-3) throughout the match, finishing the day with a 27-2 advantage in shots and a 7-0 edge in corner kicks.
“1-0 isn’t a very secure place to be—we didn’t want to settle in at that because it’s kind of stressful,” senior forward Nicky Bloom said. “It just seemed like we wanted it a little more the whole game.”
Saints’ goalkeeper Erin Olejnicak turned aside 11 shots to keep St. Scholastica in the match as long as possible.
Early in the second half, the Saint’s Sarah Bertlette made a strong bid for the equalizer, but Carleton’s Kate Trenerry was equal to the task and made a spectacular leaping save.
Bloom tacked on an insurance goal with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. She took a cross from Cassie Burke in the 6-meter box, dribbled around a defender and Olejnicak before tapping the ball into the near corner.
“I thought I took a bad first touch and then had to recover to get it,” said Bloom. “I would have been happy to get on the first time, but it was really slippery in there and it took me four touches to get it in there.”
The victory was the ninth straight for Carleton, which increased its school-record win total. Meanwhile, the Saints saw their 15-match winning streak halted.
Despite playing in their first-ever NCAA Championships, the Knights showed no signs of nervousness and instead played a typical Carleton game.
“In the past two weeks, things have really clicked,” said Carleton head coach Keren Gudeman. “We’ve been battling some really tough teams throughout the season, and that has definitely built our confidence, as has recording shutouts in the last three games.”
St. Scholastica head coach Dave Reyelts conceded that today wasn’t his squad’s best performance of the season.
“I thought it took us a little while to adjust to the pace of play,” he said. “[Carleton plays] a little more service and the ball in the air, and obviously the conditions were set up more for being able to play the ball in the air. We play on [artificial] turf and with a little more controlled pace. Our conference teams don’t pressure us like Carleton did today. They came out and pressured us and got a great goal early–it was a great shot. I though the second half was a little bit better and tighter contest, but you have to give them credit for keeping possession and keeping it away and shutting down our better players. When we started to press forward, they got one at the end to seal the deal.”
The Knights are already preparing for Sunday’s matchup with the University of Puget Sound. The Loggers enter the contest on a 16-game win streak and haven't lost since Sept. 7.
“I know they’re a very good team,” said Gudeman, “It’s tournament time, though, and anything can happen, so we’ll learn what we can in the next two days and go out and be ready for a battle.”