NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 24-ranked Carleton College women's soccer team secured a big 2-0 victory over visiting St. Catherine University.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Carleton head coach
Jessica Mueller. "Our training environment and every person on our roster contributed to this result. St Catherine is an excellent, very well-coached team with some super star players. We were really organized, and we executed exactly what we trained in preparation for the game."
These two programs have combined to win the MIAC regular season title in each of the last five years, with St. Catherine capturing the crown in 2021 and 2025, Carleton prevailing in 2022 and 2023, and the two schools sharing the top spot in 2024.
Carleton (4-1-0, 2-0-0 MIAC) finished the day with a 13-6 edge in shots and had possession 57 percent of the contest.
The Knights opened the scoring in the 17th minute.
Eliza Barton slotted a long pass up the right side, allowing
Lily Shure to run onto it. The senior midfielder dribbled toward the endline and served a perfect cross to the far post.
Isabelle Connolly smashed a header home for her second goal of the season.
St. Catherine (3-3-0, 1-1-0 MIAC) looked to respond immediately and had a flurry of activity in front of the Carleton goal, including four corner kicks and four shots over a two-minute stretch.
The teams went into halftime knotted at 1-1.
The Knights capitalized on a St. Catherine mistake moments after intermission. A pass from the backline toward the goalkeeper Brianna Valdez was picked off by Carleton rookie
Zoe Silver. She dribbled around the keeper and tapped the ball into the wide open net for her second career goal.
The Carleton defense held firm during the second half, yielding only one shot en route to the Knights' fourth consecutive shutout. Carleton's
Avery Trapp was required to make only one save while Valdez registered four stops at the other end of the field.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton travels to Concordia College-Moorhead for a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 26.
