Temperatures in the low 30s didn’t stop midfielder Taylor Sabrowski from tallying her first two goals of the season in the St. Thomas women’s soccer team’s 2-0 win over St. Catherine Wednesday at home.

The Tommies (9-6 overall, 6-3 MIAC) improved their win streak to a season-high four games.

“We came out hard-working, and then we turned casual as we thought we had the game (won),” coach Sheila McGill said.

After a free kick for St. Thomas in the 21st minute, the Tommies traveled down the field from the left. After a series of controlled passes from defender Stephanie McCartan, forward Nicole Sheehan blew past Wildcat defenders on the far sideline with a centering kick. Forward Katy Scherer made the most of the opportunity and headed the ball back to her left where Sabrowski sank it into the net in the 23rd minute to put the Tommies up 1-0, a lead they wouldn’t let go of.

“Overall, we played really well as a team,” Sabrowski said. “This week we practiced moving the ball really quick, and it took a little bit to get into it at first just because of the cold weather.”

Returning from the locker room after halftime, the Tommies took advantage of the 1-0 lead, rarely putting St. Catherine in an offensive position.

“The second half we came out a lot harder, decided to really work hard,” McGill said. “(We) did really great possession movement of the ball. That was great for us to keep our momentum building.”

After a deep throw-in from Sheehan in the 51st minute, the Wildcats tried to clear the ball but were stopped by forward Morgan McConachie. McConachie proceeded to put a ball over two defenders, where Sabrowski again came in from the far left side to jump-kick the ball over the defenders and the rushing goalkeeper for the Tommies’ second goal.

Sabrowski’s two goals put the the Tommies’ season total scores at 20 with 11 different players scoring. Three of the women are tied at three goals, four have two goals and five are tied at one goal apiece. St. Thomas allowed three goals in its last seven games.

St. Thomas will host St. Olaf (8-5-1) Saturday.

Sabrowski said the Tommies are looking forward to facing a top-tier MIAC team, but know they’ll need a couple days of practice first.

“We need to come out really hard because we need to win the rest of our games … we need to keep these next practices at a really hard work rate,” Sabrowski said.

“It’s going to be a great battle. To be honest, we tend to show up for the tough games,” McGill said. “I’m excited to see what we can make happen. When we move the ball well … it’s pretty soccer.”

Joey Anderson can be reached at ande9008@stthomas.edu.