BISMARCK, ND – A pair of first-half goals and the single-minded determination to win every ball led the University of Mary to a 2-1 win over instate rival Minot State University in the Marauders season and home opener and the first Northern Sun game of the season for both teams.
"Today's effort was account to so much behind-the-scenes work," said Marauders head coach
Sarah Cook. "It had been over 300 days since our last game and it took a lot of grind, sweat, lessons learned and sacrifice to get here. Our girls were gritty, they were fighters...they were Marauders today!"
Elizabeth Patterson and
Caylin Cathey, the two NSIC Preseason Players to Watch for UMary, provided both goals for the Marauders. Both counters came in the first 33 minutes of play and were sandwiched around the lone Beavers goal.
The Beavers pressed early, firing four shots and a corner kick at the Marauders defense in the first 17 minutes. Goalkeeper
Hannah Smith rose to the challenge, making saves on the three on-target shots.
Earning their first corner kick of the season in the 22
nd minute, Lisa Swardh served a perfect ball to the near post. Left unguarded tens yards out, Patterson headed the ball into the right side of the net for a 1-0 Marauders lead.
The celebration was over quickly for UMary as Minot State knotted the game 17 seconds later. Meagan Kawahera caught everyone by surprise when she blasted a shot just under the crossbar from 30 yards out.
It didn't take long for the Marauders to regain the lead. On a downfield rush, freshman
Emma Davies played a ball forward to Cathey, who dropped the ball back to a wide-open
Jade Smith. The junior forward one-timed a shot from 20 yards out on the left side of the net off the right post. Following up the play, Cathey claimed the loose ball and buried the rebound into the left side of the goal for her first counter of the season at 32:23 into the game.
The Marauders nearly doubled their lead in the 39
th minute on
Caitlin Dooley header from a corner kick. The shot found the Beavers goalkeeper out of position but a Minot State defender stopped the ball on the goal line.
UMary's defense controlled the rest of the game. Smith was forced to make four of her nine saves in the second half but most were of the routine variety as the Beavers were unable to get shots off close to the Marauders net.
Minot State held a 15-14 edge in shots and a 10-5 advantage in shots on frame. MSU also held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.
'It's just the start to conference play, but it couldn't have been a better start," said Cook. "I am proud of the team, the school, and the community for the support to lift us though the game! We had an unbelievable atmosphere at today's game."
The Marauders are 1-0 overall and in the NSIC. The Beavers are 1-1 and 0-1.
The win was the first for UMary over Minot State since a 1-0 win in the 2012 season opener. The Marauders went 0-3-2 against the Beavers in the two school's last five meetings.
The Marauders next face Colorado Christian and Black Hills State in a pair of neutral site non-conference games in Billings, MT, on Sept. 8 and 10.
#marauders#
