Saturday's trip to Nebraska saw St. Ambrose taking on non-conference opponent Bellevue, a team receiving votes in the NAIA poll, to help them prepare for the CCAC conference tournament. The Bees knew it would be a good test, and their play matched the occasion. 

The first 15 minutes of the game were tight with few chances at either end, but slowly SAU started to take control of the game. Dangerous crosses from Taylor DeSplinter and Abigail Goff gave the Bees numerous chances. Alyssa Schichner's front post run forced a scrambling save from the Bruins keeper, and Schichner would strike the crossbar from picking up a second ball from more successful wide play. Kaitlyn Brunson had her 1-time effort from 15 yards slide wide of the far post. 

As the half wore on, the opportunities mounted but the deadlock was not broken until the Bruins capitalized on a fast counterattack led by the keeper to get Emma Madej in on goal to take a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

"The halftime talk was all about managing us," said head coach Jon Mannall. "We had played a wonderful half, created many chances in many different ways but sometimes soccer plays out that way. It's a 90-minute game and another half of that quality would give us every chance to win the game."

It took St. Ambrose about 10 minutes to resume control of the game in the second half as chances began to accumulate. Eventually, DeSplinter would gather a ball at midfield, spin into space and find the darting run of fellow sophomore Brunson. Brunson would fend off a defender as the keeper came out. She rounded the keeper, avoided the sliding defender, and calmly finished in the 57th minute for her 12th goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1.

The Bees used their bench and continued the pressure. It was truly a team performance as 17 players would contribute on the day. The pressure resulted in a penalty chance for SAU, but the opportunity was saved. Even with the penalty save, St. Ambrose had the momentum as they took the lead in the 70th minute. A thunderous strike from Desplinter after the press of the Bees gained possession high up the field gave SAU a 2-1 lead.

Brunson would put the game beyond reach in the 79th minute when she earned a free kick. Brunson's curling effort would wrap itself in the top corner for the 3-1 lead.

The Bees managed the game effectively late giving the Bruins very few looks at Rachel Willette's goal.

"The game gave us everything that we wanted from this road trip, we had a good quality opposition that we knew would punish our mistakes, this was the case in the first half despite a good performance," said Mannall. "As a team, we stayed positive and united in belief that the goals would come and three fantastic goals would see the Bees ready for the conference schedule ahead."

The Bees will be back in action on Tuesday, November 1st, traveling to Calumet for their final regular-season conference match. Game time is scheduled for 5 p.m.