Martha Polk (So./St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) scored in the 61st minute and Yusi He (Fy./South Pasadena, Calif.) recorded a shutout in her collegiate debut as Carleton College defeated St. Thomas for its first win of the season.

Carleton (1-5-1, 1-3-0 MIAC) was winless coming into today's game, mustering only one tie from its first six games. Yet four of those losses came by one goal, and today it was Carleton's turn to scratch out an evenly played game.

The Knights scored their goal against the run of play, as senior captain Kathleen Ward (Tarzana, Calif./Harvard-Westlake School) beat St. Thomas defender Laura Baumgartner and sent a cross into the box from the far sideline. Polk rose above the St. Thomas defense and headed the ball into the far post side-netting, easily beating Tommy goalkeeper Dana Vilar.

St. Thomas (2-6-0, 1-2-0 MIAC) outshot the Knights 20-18, but were unable to get a shot past He, who played very well in her first collegiate game. The Knights 'keeper made nine saves, including stopping St. Thomas forward Sarah Balgord from 8 yards out in the 64th minute to preserve Carleton's lead.

Vilar made seven saves for St. Thomas, while Jessica Manguson lead the Tommy offensive charge with five shots, three of which were on goal.

Carleton will head back on the road as they travel to St. Joseph, Minn. to take on the College of St. Benedict on Saturday. Match time is 3 p.m. The Knights will be back home a week from today, as they will face MIAC-leading Concordia-Moorhead at 4 p.m. That game can be heard live on Knights Online.