Reagan Johnson/Winonan

The Winona State University soccer team faced a pair of NSIC opponents this past weekend, splitting a pair of matchups.

On Saturday, the Warriors traveled to St. Cloud to play the St. Cloud University Huskies. For the majority of the game neither the Warriors nor the Huskies scored.

In the 84th minute, the Huskies scored the only goal of against the Warriors, sealing the victory for St. Cloud State. Winona State had a season-low for shots with nine and only four on goal. However, the Warriors’ defense held the Huskies to six shots.

Mehan Bolton, Nicole Sames and Hannah Burt recorded two shots apiece with Bolton, Sames, Abby Bohanski and Meg Riebau posting a shot on goal.

Coach Ali Omar explained how the team’s play was not up to their maximum potential on Saturday.

“Overall, we didn’t play up to our level even though we had the game in hand,” Omar said. “St. Cloud’s team just had one opportunity and capitalized on it.”

“We didn’t show our intensity that we’ve shown in pervious games and that reflected on the score board and I think it just really made us look at the season as a whole and we came out to play much better on Sunday,” Bohanski said.

The Warriors squared off in their second game of the weekend against Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, earning a 2-0 victory Sunday afternoon in Duluth.

Winona State struck early when senior Kati Baker scored in the 12th minute of the game, knocking in a rebound off a Bohanski shot. The goal was Baker’s second of the season.

The team continued to be aggressive on goal, collecting 12 shots in the first half, with five of those on goal. The Warriors also played strong defensively, allowing the Bulldogs to make one shot giving Winona State a 1-0 lead at the half.

In the second half, the Bulldogs put more pressure on the Warriors, shooting eight times compared to seven shots by Winona State. Despite the Bulldogs attempts, they were unable to get past goalkeeper Rachel Oleson, who had three saves for her fourth shutout.

In the 88th minute, the Warriors tallied an insurance goal when Bohanski netted her sixth goal of the season, which leads the team.

Winona State led in shots in the game, 19-9, including a 9-3 lead in shots on goal.

Omar said Saturday’s loss helped the team push hard into Sunday’s game.

“Knowing that we let one slip on Saturday, we wanted to perform up to our level,” Omar said. “We showed how much we want to win and came out with our motivation fact, that helped us for the win,” Bohanki said.

Bohanski has scored in all six of the Warrior’s winning games this season. She said she is surprised at how successful she has been as a freshman.

“It keeps me motivated and it keeps me going strong,” Bohanski said.

Omar said the biggest challenge the team has faced this year is getting the players to mix well.

“The freshman class is very big and the senior class is very big we have just a total of six sophomores and juniors and we’re just trying to get that mix all together,” Omar said. “We’re working on it and it’s actually getting much better right now.”

The Warriors (6-2, 3-2 NSIC) play again on Saturday, Oct.3 against Minot State and Sunday, Oct. 4 against University of Mary.

“I’m nervous but I’m confident,” Bohanski said. “I think we can beat both the teams if we play like we did on Sunday and we stay compact and we play as a team.”