Reagan Johnson/Winonan

The Winona State University women’s soccer team kicked off their season with two home games this weekend. With temperatures in the 80s, the Warriors played their first game Friday night against the Michigan Tech Huskies.

The heat did not stop fans from cheering on the team. The west side of the Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium was filled with 372 family, friends and fans.

The Warriors struggled during the first half of the game, letting in two goals from the Huskies. With only two seconds left in the half, however, freshman forward Kirsten Windbiel netted an unassisted goal to mark the first goal of the season.

With the heat dying down in the second half, the Warriors put pressure on the Huskies. Thirteen minutes into the half senior defender Kelsey Foss scored for the Warriors and brought the game to a tie, 2-2.

Then freshman Abby Bohanski, with an assist by junior Mehan Bolton, scored the game-winning goal with 11 minutes left in the game, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.

The Warriors played their second game Sunday afternoon against the Northern Michigan Wildcats with temperatures approaching 90 degrees. Despite the intense heat the Warriors started the game aggressively.

“We wanted to clean up what happened on Friday,” head coach Ali Omar said. “We fell behind early. We wanted to be the aggressor today and get on top early in the game.”

The first goal of the game came from Winona State nine minutes into the first half from senior forward Meg Riebau after an assist by junior defender Kenzie Rose. Six minutes later Bohanski scored her second goal of the season with an assist by senior Madalyn Jansen, giving the Warriors a 2-goal lead. The Warriors held the lead through the rest of the half.

In the second half, the Wildcats became more aggressive and got onto the scoreboard with their first goal. The Warriors’ strong defense was able to keep the Wildcats at bay for the remainder of the game, guaranteeing them the win.

When speaking about what led to the team’s success this weekend coach Omar said, “After today’s game it’s perseverance. Nobody should be playing in this temperature, standing on the side lines was hot enough”.

Good team chemistry helped the Warriors to be successful this weekend, according to Riebau.

“It’s been a lot stronger than it has been in past years,” Riebau said. “One strength that we have is that we have a really solid defense that has a lot of experience.”

“We have a lot of upper class and we brought in four freshman and they’re just clicking with us. The chemistry is a lot better than it was last year,” Bolton added.

With two wins to kick off the season, the Warriors plan on working hard to continue their success.

“We need to recover from this weekend,” Omar said. “We’re trying to get back and healthy again and just take care of the next game.”

Though the team has room for improvement they are feeling optimistic about the season.

“I see us doing really well,” Bolton said. “We’re working together well as a team and I think it’s going to be a good year.”