ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University soccer team is used to making history. In the past three years alone, the Wildcats have accomplished more program first than ever before in program history.

On Saturday, St. Kate's accomplished yet another first in its 1-0 victory over the University of St. Thomas. The Wildcats beat their arch rival for the first time in program history thanks to Maddie Conners (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Hill-Murray) third goal of the season and a shutout performance by goalkeeper Tayler Koop (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine).

St. Kate's entered Saturday afternoon's game with several chips on its shoulders. The Wildcats had just suffered their first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) home loss of the season on Tuesday in 1-0 fashion. St. Kate's had also never beaten the Tommies in the history of their existence, making it one of the most intense rivalries in the MIAC. The Wildcats had also been shutout by St. Thomas in three straight games and hadn't scored a goal against the Tommies since 2015.

All that changed in the 33^rd minute of the game.  After St. Kate's was unable to capitalize on a scoring chance 15 minutes in, St. Thomas looked to take the lead with an opportunity of their own. However, Iryna Talkachova (Minsk, Belarus / Shattuck-St. Mary's) drew a foul, and the Wildcats had a free kick from the top of their own box.

That's when things got interesting.

Koop, rather than Talkachova, took the free kick and found Kaitlin Machovec (Woodbury, Minn. / North St. Paul) midfield on the far side. Machovec then booted the ball to a wide open Conners, who had the one on one advantage against the goal. Conners then buried the ball in the net, scoring St. Kate's lone goal of the game, and giving the Wildcats the 1-0 lead.

However, Conners scored the goal at 33:08 in the first half, leaving over 65 minutes for St. Thomas to tie the game and/or take the lead. Koop, though, held the potent Tommies offense at bay, as she made six saves in 90 minutes of work. St. Kate's defense helped tremendously, as the Wildcat backs made several clears and blocked several shots to keep the ball from reaching their sophomore goalkeeper.

St. Kate's also tried to extend its lead multiple times throughout the game. Talkachova had a shot ring off the post three minutes after Conners scored the first goal, and Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) nearly put the Wildcats ahead 2-0 five minutes into the second half. Bird's shot, though, just sailed wide of the net, but the lone goal proved to be enough.

With the intensity building, Koop and St. Kate's defense lived up to the pressure.  When the Tommies pushed into the Wildcats zone, St. Kate's pushed right back with clears, blocks and saves. With under one minute remaining in regular, the Wildcats made the biggest clear of the season and went on to win the game by a final score of 1-0.

Thanks to the win, St. Kate's overall records improved to 5-5-2, and the team has a 4-2-2 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the pitch on Monday when they host the University of Wisconsin-River Falls at 3:30 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.