Kylie Bridenhagen/Winonan

Winona State University’s women’s soccer team traveled to Fayette, Iowa Friday, Sept. 13, to play in their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game against the Upper Iowa Peacocks.

After a pair of 0-0 tied games last week, head coach Ali Omar was looking to convert their scoring opportunities into actual goals.

“We need to keep our head up and just continue playing,” Omar said. “The goals will come.  There are a lot of good teams this year in the conference and you almost have to be perfect to win.”

Kali Loescher of Upper Iowa scored the only goal of the game and her first of the year in the 53rd minute, after receiving an assist from Madie Edwards. The one goal was enough to earn Upper Iowa a 1-0 win over Winona State.

The Warriors totaled 19 shots against Upper Iowa, nine of the shots being on goal. With eight shots during the first half and 11 in the second, Jennifer DeRoo led the team with five shots, two of which were on goal.

Kati Baker also contributed four shots, with two on goal during the game. Meg Riebau took three total shots with two on goal to help the Warriors offensively. Rebecca McCoy and Devon Richards shared two shots apiece, while Samantha Fegen, Alaina Kne and Morgan Lefebvre each had one.

The Peacocks had 20 total shots, with 11 of them being on goal. Loescher had seven total shots, one of which was team’s scoring goal. Aimee Wronksi and Maggie Olson were also among the top helping out Upper Iowa with five and three shots, respectively.

Although Winona State was scored on only once during the day, goalkeeper Alexandra Vial was able to save the ten other shots on goal compared to Upper Iowa’s Kaitlyn Emanuel who had nine saves.

The Warriors earned their first win of the season Sept. 15 when they hosted the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats.

Bearcats’ Fiona Moloney scored her team’s solo goal off of a free kick, giving Northwest Missouri an early lead during the first half.

Winona State’s McCoy battled back, giving the Warriors their first point of the game during the second half. The game concluded in a 1-1 tie, which prompted play in two overtimes.

The Warriors had three total shots, while Northwest Missouri had one during the overtime. Neither team could come up with a goal, so another overtime was added to the clock.

With just 18 seconds left in the second overtime, Warrior freshman Riebau assisted Caitlin Lilly in scoring the game-winning goal, putting the Warriors ahead and giving them their first win of the year.

Lilly, along with Baker and Bales, each added three shots for the team and  Mehan Bolton, DeRoo and Kne each had two. McCoy’s sole shot taken during the game was her goal, and Taylor Zehren, Cailyn McCauley and Madalyn Jansen each added one shot to the total.

Cassie Phillips and Anna Holden lead the Bearcats with two shots each, accounting for half of the teams’ total shots.

Vial allowed only one goal and saved an additional three goals from scoring. Northwest Missouri’s goalkeeper, Kelsey Adams, had 11 saves and allowed two goals past her.

With their first win under their belts, the Warriors will travel to St. Cloud State for another conference matchup on Sept. 21, followed by a trip to Duluth to face University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Contact Kylie at [email protected]