St. Thomas women’s soccer is in the midst of its best Summit League season in program history, but it has still never beaten South Dakota, and Sunday’s game continued that streak as the Coyotes scored three times in the first 23 minutes to beat the Tommies 3-0 at South Field.
The Tommies (4-9-1, 3-4-0 Summit League) entered the day on a three-game win streak, second in their pod and third in the overall league standings, just below the Coyotes (6-4-5, 3-1-3). However, they didn’t take a shot until the 35th minute and trailed 3-0 at halftime.
“I think we came out a little bit slow,” interim coach Becca Brandt said. “We went into the locker room at halftime and made some adjustments, and I’m proud of the fact that we did not stop competing. We had a much better second half than the first.”
In the 15th minute, St. Thomas junior forward/midfielder Melina Knowles picked up a yellow card. South Dakota first-year midfielder Kinsley Pesicka scored on the free kick opportunity after first-year goalkeeper Sophia Alvarez couldn’t hold the initial save.
Less than a minute later, South Dakota senior midfielder Brooke Conway scored a power shot above Alvarez’s head to make it 2-0 off an assist by redshirt sophomore defender Elsie Odney. South Dakota first-year forward Brooklynn Pollmiller then scored a scorpion kick goal in the 23rd minute off another assist from Odney to make it 3-0.
St. Thomas didn’t take its first shot until the 35th minute and its first shot on goal until the 43rd.
St. Thomas switched goalkeepers during halftime, subbing in junior Ayden Gagner.
The Tommies played more evenly after halftime, taking three of their five shots in the second half while limiting the Coyotes to five shots with one on goal. St. Thomas senior forward/midfielder Sofia Englund said the difference came down to mindset.
“I don’t think we were mentally prepared as much as we were in the second half,” Englund said. “We came out a little bit slow, which we hadn’t done in the last three games.”
Englund said South Dakota’s early edge came down to winning the 50-50 balls.
“We were giving them a little bit too much respect,” Englund said. “We started off by saying the most important part of this game was going to be those 50-50 balls, and at the beginning of the game, we weren’t doing that. We weren’t winning those, and that showed.”
Brandt said the group will focus on how it responds rather than lingering in defeat.
“This whole season has been about the process, and failing and losing is part of the process,” Brandt said. “How we respond, how we show up to training on Tuesday ready to work and get better, and go back to our basics, back to our principles that have gotten us this far.”
St. Thomas will host its next Summit League opponent, Omaha, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at South Field.
Reagan Boschulte can be reached at bosc3829@stthomas.edu.
