Nampa, Idaho—It was an early start on the Saturday before Labor Day for the Minnesota Crookston women's soccer team. On this Saturday, it was a date with California State University, Monterey Bay.
 
On Thursday afternoon, there was eight combined goals between Minnesota Crookston, and Adams State University. Today, there was only one goal scored in the match, and that was scored by CSUMB in a 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles.
 
It took a while for the game to see its first goal. Finally, at the 42:13 mark of the first half, the Otters found the back of the net, with a goal from Madison Aguirre. That goal from Aguirre was assisted by Taylor Duplantier.
 
The Golden Eagles would play well defensively for most of the match. The standout was junior goalkeeper Olivia Puttin (Rogers, Minn.). The Otters finished the game with 19 shots, with 11 coming in the first half, and eight in the second half. On the day, Puttin finished with 14 saves.
 
The Otters were led offensively by Aguirre who scored the lone goal, and Elizabeth Kobrine who had five shots on the day. The Golden Eagles lone shot was recorded by Jessica Scott.
 
Although it was a loss for the Golden Eagles, head coach Joe Alianiello likes what he saw defensively from his squad.
 
"I thought we were more organized today defensively," said Alianiello. "A lot of those shots they had were 25-30 yards out, and we are ok with opponents taking those kind of shots."
 
It was the offense on Thursday that really stood out for Minnesota Crookston, and today it was the defense. Alianiello thinks that is a great sign moving forward.
 
"The back line was outstanding today, and if we can combine the two performances I think we can start to get some results," Alianiello said.
 
Minnesota Crookston was stuck with a tall task trying to put the ball in the back of the net against CSUMB. Last season, the Otters were stout on the defensive end. They only allowed 1.05 goals against average, and only faced five shots per game last season.
 
The loss for the Golden Eagles drops their record to 0-2-0 on the young season, while the win for California State University, Monterey Bay is their first on the season as they move to 1-1-0.
 
Minnesota Crookston will look to salvage one win on the weekend in the Pacific Northwest as they get set for battle Monday afternoon against Northwest Nazarene University. That match is set for 1 p.m.