St. Ambrose women's soccer opened their 2024 campaign with a tough ranked Marian Knights team. The Bees allowed two early goals in a 4-2 defeat Saturday evening in Indianapolis, Ind. SAU regained their footing at the 5:57 mark with the first goal of the season from Kendall Wendt (Addie Kerkhoff). From there on the Bees kept pace with the Knights. 

To open the game, the Knights took advantage of a slow SAU start by scoring a goal 47 seconds into the contest. Marian would rattle off another shot before an eventual Marian goal by Katie Koger to expand the lead to 2-0.  

Kendall Wendt got on the board for St. Ambrose almost a minute and a half later to cut Marian's lead in half. The Knights continued to test the Bees defense, but St. Ambrose held stout. It was Wendt again for the Fighting Bees with her second goal of the game. She would tie the game at 2-2 to give SAU some momentum moving forward.  

Marian would continue to create chances but could never capitalize with a strong Bee defense standing in the way. St. Ambrose fought off a corner kick and two more shots before an offside call on the Bees would damper their attacking chance. Two saves by Grace Kuchar would end the first half for the Bees tied at two all. 

To start the second 45 minutes of play, the Knights would press the Bees defense hard before St. Ambrose could rally. A shot by Taylor DeSplinter would give SAU hope as they rallied three consecutive shots within a two-minute timeframe. In the 72nd minute, the Knights would find the back of the net to take the 3-2 lead. No more than ten minutes later, Marian again scored to extend the lead 4-2. A corner kick for the Bees allowed a late scoring opportunity but nothing came of the opportunity. St. Ambrose would fall to no. 19 Marian University 4-2. 

The goal scorer for the Bees had three shots with two being on goal for the evening. McKenna Shilevinatz created two shots while Taylor DeSplinter shot once for SAU. Addie Kerkhoff tallied the lone assist for St. Ambrose. 

Kuchar recorded ten saves for SAU.  

Next up the Bees will host Missouri Valley for the home opener, Wed. Aug. 21st at 2 p.m at St. Vincent's Athletic Complex in Davenport, Iowa.