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  • St. Peter’s Tori Wilking clears the ball during a nonconference soccer match against Mankato Loyola Thursday at the Loyola Field. Wilking scored the Saints’ first goal in their 3-2 overtime victory. Pat Christman

    Loyola Soccer

September 5, 2008

St. Peter drops Loyola in OT

Thelen scores game-winner

Josh Berhow

MANKATO — St. Peter coach Karl Larson knew his girls soccer team was better than what they showed in the first half Thursday night.

So he wasn’t surprised when the Saints rallied to score the match’s only second-half goal and then Alexa Thelen’s game-winner in the first overtime to down Mankato Loyola 3-2 at the Loyola field.

In the Saints’ two previous games, they suffered one-goal losses Mankato East and Mankato West, getting as close as any opponent has to those teams this season.

“Tonight we came out and the matchups weren’t right,” Larson said. “We looked really sloppy in the first half. This is a team that has really demonstrated that they have some potential.”

St. Peter took a one-goal lead midway through the first half, but Loyola made it a 2-1 game with two goals in the last five minutes, including one in the closing moments of the half.

With only 10 seconds remaining in the half, Loyola’s Nicole Evan — who scored the Crusaders’ first goal — booted a free kick toward the goal, and after a scrum of players went after it, Melissa Sorensen found the net as time expired.

Sorenson, a freshman forward, caused havoc all game for Saints defenders, using her quickness and ball-control to put numerous shots on net.

“She’s lightning fast and she’s one of the people who created mismatches for us. We just could not contain her,” Larson said. “I was really impressed with how well she handled the ball and the minute she got her foot on the ball she was gone. Those players are really tough to contain.”

Thelen tied the game for St. Peter early in the second half, but Sorenson and the rest of the Crusaders looked to break the tie in the final 10 minutes of regulation, putting constant pressure on Saints goalkeeper Becca Studer.

Loyola failed to convert on a few last-minutes chances but seemed to have the momentum entering overtime.

A little more more than one minute into the first extra seession, Thelen made a move on a defender and beat goalkeeper Sarah Peller for what would be the game-winning goal.

“Susanna (Holmstrom) had a really good pass and a girl came in and I decided to go around her,” Thelen said. “I tried for the corner and it went through the goalies hands.”

Thelen’s game-winner hadned the Crusaders another tough loss, moving their record to 0-7. Loyola had its second-half chances and Peller played well to keep them in the game, but in was Thelen’s night.

“We’ve been in a situation a couple of times when we needed that late goal to draw even,” Larson said, whose team moved to 2-3. “And to finally be able to come back and get the equalizer and then get the winner in overtime, that’s good for this team. It will be a real confidence booster.”

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