Women's Soccer 10/4/06 -- Augsburg 1, St. Benedict 0 

BOXSCORE 

MINNEAPOLIS (10/4/06) -- Mitra Rahimi (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored the only goal of the game, off a throw-in by Whitney Holman (Fr., New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong HS) in the 82nd minute, as the Augsburg College women's soccer team scored a 1-0 victory over the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Wednesday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Maggie DeGroot (So., Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West HS) recorded five saves for her eighth shutout of the season in goal for the Auggies, who improved to 7-2-2 overall, 4-1-1 in MIAC play.

St. Benedict is now 5-3-1 overall, 3-3-0 in MIAC play. The game was a key contest between two teams who are in contention for a spot in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs.

The game was an evenly matched one, as St. Benedict claimed 14 shots to Augsburg's 11, while the Auggies had six corner kicks to St. Benedict's three.

With 8:39 left in regulation, Rahimi received a throw-in from Holman on the right side, and deposited the ball off St. Benedict goalkeeper Shannon Conk (Fr., Masonville, Colo./Thompson Valley HS) for the only goal of the game.

"I was very proud of our performance tonight. The team fought hard and got stronger as the game went on," said Augsburg head coach Mike Navarre. "We played well against a very strong and well-coached St. Ben's team."

DeGroot recorded her eighth shutout of the season -- one behind the single-season school record of nine, set in 1997 by Beth Petrik and in 2002 by Laura Hoffman -- and 16th of her career. DeGroot is in third place in career shutouts, behind Petrik's 26 (1995-98) and Hoffman's 23 (2000-03).

Holman had four shots for Augsburg, while Emily Anderson * (Sr., Hudson, Wis.) had three shots. Kristen Perry (So., Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) had five shots for St. Benedict, while Tina Lisk (So., Louisville, Colo./Monarch HS) had four shots.

St. Benedict returns to action with a nonconference game on Friday (10/6) at 5 p.m. at Loras (Iowa). Augsburg returns to action on Sunday (10/9) at 2 p.m. with a nonconference game at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the No. 8-ranked team in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III national rankings.

"We look forward to playing our next game vs. Eau Claire, one of the best teams in the nation," Navarre said. "Our team loves challenges. I know they will be excited to play."