Women's Soccer 10/13/06 -- Augsburg 2, St. Mary's 1 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/13/06) -- Kristi Castelic (Fr., De Pere, Wis./West De Pere HS) scored her first collegiate goal on a penalty kick in the 80th minute, providing the game-winning goal for Augsburg College in a 2-1 triumph over St. Mary's University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer contest Friday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

With the win, Augsburg improved to 8-4-2 overall, 5-2-1 in MIAC play. St. Mary's, which entered the game two points behind Augsburg for fourth place in the MIAC standings, fell to 8-3-3 overall, 2-3-3 in MIAC play. Both teams remain in contention for a spot in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs, as both teams have three conference games remaining in the regular season.

Augsburg remained unbeaten at home with the victory, improving to 7-0-0 in games at Edor Nelson Field this season. The Auggies have now outscored their opponents by a 19-1 margin at home.

Playing against a fierce westerly wind in the second half, Augsburg was dominant, outshooting the Cardinals by a 15-3 margin in the frame, en route to an 18-7 shots advantage in the game.

"Tonight was an extremely physical game. I was pleased with how our team kept their focus and composure, particularly in the second half against the wind," said Augsburg head coach Mike Navarre. "Each game presents unique challenges. We talk a lot about overcoming adversity and beating the game. Tonight we overcame the obstacles by playing for each other and supporting each other."

Castelic, a defender, drew the honors of shooting the penalty kick after Augsburg forward Whitney Holman (Fr., New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) drew a foul in the penalty box with 10:54 remaining in the game. Castelic fired the ball low and to the right, past St. Mary's goalkeeper Jennifer Johnson (Jr., Racine, Wis./Racine Horlick HS) for the eventual game-winning goal. It was the first penalty-kick goal for the Auggies this season.

Augsburg took an early lead in the first half, on a goal from Kelsey Watsabaugh (So., Eden Prairie, Minn./Hopkins HS) in the eighth minute. She fired the ball from deep in the left side of the penalty box. The ball caught the strong westerly wind and carried across the goal mouth and into the top right corner of the net. Becky Lewis (Sr., Duluth, Minn./Duluth Marshall HS) and Jackie Keller (Jr., Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City West HS) were credited with assists.

But St. Mary's tied the game in the 20th minute, after an Augsburg foul in the penalty box resulted in a penalty kick. Abbey D'Acquisto (Jr., Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's HS) converted the penalty kick, the Cardinals' first penalty kick goal of the season.

St. Mary's gained more momentum in the first half after its penalty kick, but could not put any more shots past the Augsburg defense and goalkeeper Maggie DeGroot (So., Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West HS), who was credited with two saves in the game to earn the win. The Cardinals held a 4-3 shots advantage at halftime.

Both teams played an aggressive style of soccer, which resulted in eight fouls called against St. Mary's, along with two yellow cards, and nine fouls called against Augsburg.

St. Mary's goalkeeper Johnson recorded double-digit saves for the second straight game, collecting 10 saves -- including nine in the second half.

Emily Anderson * (Sr., Hudson, Wis.) had seven shots in the game for the Auggies, including five on goal. D'Acquisto had three shots to lead St. Mary's.

Augsburg returns to MIAC play on Tuesday (10/17) at 3:30 p.m. with a game at Bethel. St. Mary's is idle until next Saturday (10/21), with a 1 p.m. home game against St. Benedict.

"As I told the team afterwards, soccer is a players' game. Our program is strong because we have great people in it. Tonight was a reflection of our commitment to working hard and caring for each other," Navarre said. "We've had some difficult results this year, but we are still in a good position to be contenders. We look forward to the rest of the season."