GORDY DELIVERS, WOLVES NIP WILDCATS

Oct. 7, 2001

Kristie Gordy

Northern State senior sweeper Kristie Gordy just wasn't going to disappoint her mother on Parent's Weekend.

Before Sunday's match against Wayne State, Kristie's mother Nancy said simply that her daughter's team was GOING to win. With about 15 minutes remaining in the match, Kristie delivered on her mother's promise, driving home a penalty kick that would be the match winner in NSU's 2-1 victory over the Wildcats.

Gordy's kick helped break a three-match drought for NSU vs. Wayne, and her leadership in directing Northern's defense from her sweeper position helped the Wolves hold Wayne State's high-powered offense to just one goal. The Wildcats came into the match ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 4.5 goals per match.

The Wildcats struck first in the 34th minute when their senior star Sarah Herrick (ranked 10th nationally in goals and points) was able to pooch a ball over the head of NSU goalie Candace Bloms (Jamestown, N.D.), who had charged the ball in a runout.

Prelude to a goal: WSC goalie Erika Mather can't recover as a Peterson pass shanked off the goal before Coulter entered the picture to drive it home.

But the Wolves regrouped and less than 10 minutes later scored on a goal by junior midfielder Kersten Coulter (Sioux Falls, S.D.) set up by freshman forward Kelly Peterson (Vermillion, S.D.).

The second half was evenly played before a Wayne penalty on senior forward Rebecca Valdez (Cheyenne, Wyo.) set up Gordy's clutch kick. Bloms, who is ranked 17th in the nation in goals against average, improved her record in net to 7-0.

The win puts the Wolves at 11-3 overall and 3-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while Wayne fell to 9-5 and 2-2. After the team's quality back-to-back wins, the Wolves will hope to break into the Central Region rankings this coming week.

Wolves will travel next weekend to face Minnesota-Crookston and Minnesota-Moorhead. From there, the rest of the regular season will be played out at home, with four matches slated at the NSU Grounds to complete the regular season. NSU also hosts the NSIC Tournament Nov. 2-4.