Women’s soccer falls to St. Norbert

The St. Norbert-Lawrence match
last Saturday promised to be exciting,
with both teams still in the
playoff picture. The Vikings were
fighting to secure a spot in the
conference tournament, and the
Green Knights were looking to notch
another win to lock down the tournament’s
No. 2 seed.
Both teams came ready to fight
for every ball and the intensity was
apparent from the beginning, with
19 fouls being called in the first half.
Adding to drama was the return of
Sarah Ehlinger from the sidelines
following an injury.
A momentary loss of concentration
in the 23rd minute allowed
St. Norbert forward Caitlin Carrigan
break through the defensive line.
Goalkeeper Lindsay Ahlen was too
quick off her line and Carrigan cut to
the side, slotting in the first goal of
the match. St. Norbert’s second goal
would come only two minutes later,
when Stephanie Gatyas put a shot
over Ahlen into the net.
After that rough two-minute
stretch, Lawrence picked up its
game. The Green Knights continued
to keep the Lawrence side off-balance
with physical defense, committing
21 fouls over the course of the
match.
Lawrence went of the offensive
for the rest of the match, trying to
get the momentum back on their
side. There were a total of nine
opportunities on net for the Vikings
but, mostly due to the efforts of
St. Norbert goalkeeper Cara Tazioli,
the only shot to go in was an 86thminute
strike by Mallory Koula.
The final minutes of the match
saw St. Norbert buckle down on
defense as Lawrence tried to send
the game into overtime. However,
the Green Knights were successful in
avoiding any real danger in the closing
minutes of the match, and they
prevailed, bringing their MWC record
to 7-1-0 and clinching the No. 2 seed.
With only one game remaining
on the Lawrence schedule, the
Vikings must win against Ripon to
have the chance to join Carroll, St.
Norbert and Lake Forest in the MWC
Tournament. The match is at home
Saturday, with kickoff at 1 p.m.