ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Cathedral just couldn’t find the back of the net against St. John’s Prep and goalkeeper Mya Beumer. At halftime, the Crusaders fired off nine attempts — five of which on target — and nothing to show for it.
They could not buy a goal, meanwhile the Johnnies could not make it past midfield.
Advertisement
It was gross, wet and cold throughout. An excuse? Maybe, but not for coach Abby Schneider and Cathedral.
VOTE: Pick your St. Cloud Times Athlete of the Week for Sept. 7-13
“Possession is the name of the game, right? They can’t score if they don’t have the ball,” Schneider said. “Obviously, we would have liked to finish on more of our chances, but I liked how we played. We were in charge of this game the whole way, even if the scoreboard didn’t show a huge gap.”
On the 11th shot of the night, sophomore Evie Kremer-Reisdorf booted one through in the 35th minute of the second half for the go-ahead goal, securing a 1-0 win over St. John’s Prep. Ava Engdahl had the assist.
Advertisement
It was a confident shot with the left foot from over 30 yards out, which is no easy feat, especially against the sure gloves of Beumer who would finish the night with nine saves.
“We talked to them about being brave and taking those shots,” Schneider said. “Especially with the bouncing on the turf, we never know where it’s going to go. We’re happy that she went out and did that.”
More: Sartell, Sauk Rapids-Rice name new head coach for girls hockey co-op
After all, it was just a couple games ago that Cathedral poured in 16 goals against Melrose for the eighth-most in MSHSL history. This team can score and has confidence in doing so, it just took them a while to get to this point.
Advertisement
The Crusaders started their season 0-4, a stark contrast from their 18-3-1 campaign just a year ago. However, with a third win in as many games, things are starting to click once again for Cathedral.
“Against East Grand Forks, we really found that rhythm and connectedness,” Schneider said. “We’re finding ourselves, we’re finding some connections and we’re finding some fun on the field. These girls just work, they like what we do. We’re happy with the confidence of a lot of our players and where that’s grown over the past two weeks.”
The Crusaders are back in action Sept. 15 against Albany for their senior night.
You can reach St. Cloud Times sports reporter David Jacobs and send story ideas to djacobs@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @davidrjacobs10.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Cathedral dominates possession for gritty win over St. John’s Prep
