A furious comeback proved to be all for naught as St. Scholastica football fell 31-24 in overtime to Rockford on Saturday in their season opener at Walt Hunting Stadium-Marv Heikkinen Field in Duluth.
The contest started slowly, with no scoring in the first quarter, no touchdowns until late in the first half and a 10-10 score after three frames, but it livened up late. Rockford scored consecutive touchdowns to take a 24-10 lead with 5:30 to play.
The Saints got back into the game on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Donald West to Simon Randorf with 3:51 to play. The Saints got the ball back with a short field and tied it up on a 7-yard touchdown run from Andrew Burgess with 59 seconds to play.
The Regents scored a touchdown on a seven-play drive to open OT, while the Saints followed a 5-yard run on first down with three straight incompletions.
Nick Schlender was CSS’s leading rusher, accumulating 82 yards on 15 carries. West was 19-for-40 passing with one touchdown and one interception.
CSS will play a second nonconference game at Crown College on Saturday, Sept. 21.
CSS shut out by Whitewater
St. Scholastica faced down a relentless attack but couldn’t generate much offense for themselves on Sunday, losing a nonconference game 4-0 to Wisconsin-Whitewater on Sunday in Duluth.
The Warhawks had 22 shot attempts in the first half to CSS’s none, and the final total was 40-8.
UWW scored twice in each half, with Maya Rebic scoring one goal in each half.
Abigail Shrode was credited with 17 saves for the Saints (0-5-2).
St. Scholastica grabbed a 2-2 draw at home on Saturday vs. Luther College, as Kaitlyn Sautter scored a goal in both halves, including the equalizer in the 54th minute.
CSS begins Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday at Concordia-Moorhead.
Defense problems hurt Saints in losses
Protecting their goal has proven difficult for St. Scholastica, as the Saints suffered a 5-1 home loss to Wisconsin-Superior on Wednesday and a 4-1 defeat to Wartburg in Duluth on Saturday.
The Saints fell behind early but kept it 1-0 until the 56th minute, then gave up two late goals 17 seconds apart before Vinny Pearcy scored a consolation tally for the Saints.
Ben Hallberg made 10 saves.
Against UWS, the game was scoreless through 50 minutes before blowing up. UWS scored in the 53rd minute, but CSS’s Akeem Robotham replied only 26 seconds later.
However, UWS scored two more quick ones soon after, then two more goals late to finish it off.
Marco Hernandez played the majority of Wednesday’s game in the CSS net, making seven saves.
CSS (0-5-1) will begin MIAC play at Concordia-Moorhead on Tuesday.
Saints get back to .500 mark
After starting the 2024 season on a five-match losing streak, St. Scholastica got back to even on the campaign by sweeping their last three matches in their four-match trip to Ripon, Wisconsin Friday and Saturday.
CSS was swept 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) by Carroll on Friday before taking down Ripon 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-23), Maranatha Baptist 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-14) and Alverno 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-10).
Stats from the individual matches were not available.
CSS (6-6) has one more non-conference date, meeting Wisconsin-La Crosse and Nebraska Wesleyan in a triangular on Friday in La Crosse.
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