Reagan Johnson/Winonan

The Winona State University women’s soccer team played a trio of games this past week, earning a pair of victories.

On Monday the Warriors traveled to Fayette, Iowa to play the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Neither team found the net in the first half as the score remained a 0-0 tie.

Senior Kati Baker, with an assist from freshman Abby Bohanski, scored her 10th career goal just a minute and a half into the second period.  Bohanski added the final goal of the game on an assist from Kelsey Foss 19 minutes later for the 2-0 final.

The Warriors were aggressive on the Peacock’s side of the field throughout the game with 25 shots. They landed 13 of those shots on goal, a season-high.

Throughout the game, sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Oleson made eight saves, helping secure the win.

On Tuesday the Warriors moved up in the NCSAA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Warriors were originally ranked 20th but moved up to 18th after being undefeated for the first three games of the season.

Coach Ali Omar said that rankings like these do not really mean much at this point in the season.

“It’s something to brag about but right now it’s just another number,” Omar said.

On Saturday the Warriors were back on their home field in a matchup against the Wayne State Wildcats. Winona State jumped out to an early lead in the game with a goal from senior Meg Riebau with assists by Mehan Bolton and Bohanski for the 1-0 advantage.

The Warriors displayed their strong defense throughout the afternoon, limiting the Wildcats to four shots with only two of those on goal. The team was equally aggressive on offense, totaling 20 shots against the Wildcats, with 15 of those coming in the second half.

In the 78th minute, after her initial shot was blocked, Bohanski snuck a rebound attempt into the back of the net. The goal marked Bohanski’s fifth of the season. She now has 12 points on the season—just one short of last year’s team leader at 13. Bohanski placed four shots in the afternoon, all of which were on goal.

“We weren’t very confident so we worked for the game more than we really needed to,” Omar said.

The team played at home again Sunday against the Augustana Vikings. The Vikings scored on the Warriors in the 53rd minute.

Both teams were in a battle defensively throughout the afternoon, especially in the first half, with only three shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes. Bohanski had a pair of shots on goal, but was denied her sixth goal in six games by Viking goalkeeper Taylor Machacek.

Offensively, Winona State recorded six shots on goal with Kenzie Rose and Bohanski each posting two, while Mehan Bolton and Hayley Bach added one apiece. Augustana had six shots on goal as well on the game.

“We had a good effort but it wasn’t a collective effort,” Omar said.

Omar added that the team would be working out those issues for next week’s games.

Winona State (5-1, 2-1 NSIC) will compete again this weekend with a pair of away games. On Saturday, the team heads to St. Cloud State to play the Huskies and hits the road again to compete against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Sunday.