Midfielder Haley Engel’s goal was all the St. Thomas women’s soccer team needed to trample Augsburg 2-0 in a MIAC semifinal Wednesday at South Field.
The Tommies returned from Saturday’s 4-0 loss against Augsburg in the regular season finale with a new tenacity and energy that helped the team advance to the MIAC championship game for the first time in program history.
“We decided we had to let go what happened against Augsburg the first time,” coach Sheila McGill said. “We knew it was going to be a different dynamic today; we were on our home field, our home turf which made it such a different mindset going into the game. The girls came out so driven and so ready to go.”
Both teams began the first half with fast-paced ball movement, making for an intense first 45 minutes. Multiple turnovers in the midfield created fast counters toward both goals, but neither team was able to finish.
“Augsburg played yesterday,” McGill said. “We talked about how if we kept on running at them, over and over again in surges – and that’s where we used our subs to do it again and again – that we would tire them out, and that was clutch for us.”
St. Thomas controlled the majority of possession throughout the half with five corner kicks, but the Tommies managed only one shot on the net. Augsburg played solid defense and was able to stop opportunities. At the half, the game was tied 0-0, and St. Thomas was left fatigued.
At the start of the second half, the Tommies received a new surge of energy with Engel’s goal in the 50th minute, when she was able to find the back of the net from the top of the box.
“We played the ball really fast, which is something I think we do really well at home,” Engel said.
Augsburg created a few opportunities at the beginning of the second half but was unable to tie the game. St. Thomas had the Auggie defense on its heels with fast counters and frequent turnovers.
“We found connections faster,” McGill said. “Our defensive line was so strong and so tough that we didn’t let a whole lot in behind, and that really helped in particular. I thought Taylor (Skorik) and Mallory (DeBoom) were amazing up top together, they really just played off of each other so well.”
In the 70th minute, forward Mallory DeBoom earned a chance on a breakaway and fiercely challenged the Augsburg goalkeeper. Finishing strong, she scored to propel the Tommies to a 2-0 lead.
“They came out really strong when we first scored … we just really needed to continue to play that solid defense,” Engel said. “I think once we scored the second goal it’s very much like ‘OK, we can play now.’”
In the remaining time of Wednesday’s game, the St. Thomas defense held off Augsburg to secure a matchup against Gustavus Saturday at South Field. The Gusties handed the Tommies a 2-1 loss on Sept. 26, one of St. Thomas’ two conference losses on the season. While a win would give St. Thomas an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, McGill seemed more focused on getting revenge against the Gusties.
“We’ve wanted a rematch against Gustavus this whole time,” McGill said. “We had so many things go wrong that game, and still some players that were injured. We have all the players, and we’re definitely looking forward to the rematch, especially on our home turf.”
Eric Bromback can be reached at brom0030@stthomas.edu.