John Kipper, Staff Writer

An all-round dominant performance propelled the women’s soccer team to a 2-0 win against St. Olaf and into the semifinal round of the MIAC playoffs the next day for a tough road game against Bethel. The team won handily 4-2 and is riding a huge wave of momentum into the MIAC Championship game where they will face perhaps the most hated school in the MIAC, St. Thomas.

The team got hot and stayed hot in the last half of the regular season, winning eight of their last nine games going into the match against the Oles. Against St. Olaf, the Auggies seemed in control for the entirety of the game. There were no goals in the first half, but the forwards and midfielders were generating plenty of good opportunities while the defense limited the Oles to seven shots. Early in the second half, the team got two big goals from Jessy Wiskofske and Ashley St. Aubin. From that point on, the team controlled the pace of the game, nearly scoring a third goal late in the game. The defense all but stifled shot opportunities in the second half, and goaltender Emily Chapman made eight save enroute to the shutout.

Against Bethel, Nora Edelen and Gabriela Encarnacion scored in the first half to put the Auggies up 2-0. Encarnacion scored her second goal of the game early in the second half, giving Augsburg a seemingly insurmountable lead. However, Bethel drew blood with a penalty kick and then scored less than a minute after that, drastically changing the tide of the game. A goal in the 60th minute by St. Aubin alleviated much of the tension, and the team regained its composure to close out the game similar to the St. Olaf one.

The Auggies go on the road to play top seeded St. Thomas Saturday at 1 p.m. This game is for both the MIAC championship and a bid to the national tournament.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 2, 2018 issue. 

Women’s soccer midfielder Nora Edelen prepares to send a pass down field. Photo by Sylvia Cha.