ST. CLOUD, Minn. —Two first half goals provided the difference as the University of Sioux Falls Soccer Team (4-9-2, 3-7-2 NSIC) fell to St.Cloud State (6-5-4, 6-2-3 NSIC), 2-0 on Friday (Oct. 19) afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action.
With the loss, USF now sits in 11
th place in the NSIC standings at 3-7-2 and one spot behind Minnesota Duluth at 4-6-1. USF and UMD will play Sunday in Duluth, Minn., at 1 p.m. USF is 0-3-2 over the past five matches since a 1-0 win over Minnesota Crookston. But, USF has allowed just four total goals as the team's defense has been solid.
USF's junior goalkeeper
Brayden Paul had another strong performance as she recorded eight saves on 10 shots on goal.
The Huskies scored early in the match at 2:44 on a goal by Mallory Mollenhauer who headed Claire Shea's corner kick past Paul into the net. USF had their best opportunity at a tie in the 25
th minute with two corner kicks and three shots in a one-minute span. Junior
Erin O'Tool had a pair of shots in the span but both sailed wide of the goal. Later in the first half, SCSU's Maria Witte scored her fourth goal of the season off a penalty kick at 32:17 as the Huskies opened up a 2-0 lead.
The USF offense searched for momentum throughout the contest but only recorded eight total shots. USF had six of those shots in the opening half and totaled three total shots on goal. Aside from O'Tool, USF's
Jackie Montes,
Aundria Vargas, and
Lily McKown each recorded one shot.
Late in the first half, USF's
Danielle Cooper launched a shot just above the crossbar in the 42
nd minute as SCSU led 2-0 at the halftime break. The Cougars recorded two total shots throughout the second half, with one being on goal, but with the wind in their face, struggled for consistent offense.
