Reagan Johnson/Winonan

After spending the last two weekends on the road, the Winona State University women’s soccer team earned a pair of wins at home over the weekend.

Prior to the games, head coach Ali Omar said he was happy the team was competing at home this weekend.

On Saturday afternoon the Warriors matched up against the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winona.

The first goal of the game was scored in the 13th minute after first-year Abby Bohanski took a shot on goal, but it was saved by the Dragon goalkeeper. Junior Mehan Bolton corralled the rebound and netted the shot for the 1-0 lead.

The one-goal advantage would end up being the game winner. This marked Bolton’s second consecutive game-winning goal, with the previous one scored last Sunday when Bolton netted the winning shot in double overtime against University of Mary.

Offensively, Bolton, Bohanski and Hayley Bach led the way for the Warriors.

Bolton posted a total of eight shots with four on goal, while Bohanski landed four shots with three of them on goal. Bach managed a pair of shots on goal, adding to the Warrior effort. As a team, the Warriors had 11 different players with at least one shot on goal.

Though the Warriors did not score for the remainder of the game, they continued to stay on the offensive side, achieving season-highs in shots. Winona State took 34 shots with 17 of those on goal.

The Warrior defense limited the Dragons to six shots with two of those on goal. Winona State goalkeeper Rachel Oleson made a pair of saves to mark her sixth shutout of the season.

Winona State returned to the field on Sunday to face the Northern State Wolves under unseasonably warm temperatures, with highs reaching the mid-80s.

The Warriors used a pair of goals in the first half to post a 2-1 victory and cap the sweep over the weekend.

“Opportunity came early and we capitalized on them,” Omar said. “We had a lot of opportunities on (Saturday) and we didn’t capitalize. (Sunday) was a better team then Saturday and they had lost the day before so they came with a little bit more aggression. We had to absorb some of the pressure they put on us early on and once we had the chance to open it up, we scored twice.”

The opening goal came five minutes into the first half when Bohanski headed in a free kick by Kelsey Foss from 45 yards away. The goal gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead and marked Bohanski’s seventh of the season.

Eight minutes later, Winona State struck again when midfielder Hannah Burt found Bohanski near midfield who kicked the assist to Kati Baker on the left side. Baker then kicked a shot on goal that bounced off the post and into the net. The goal brought the score 2-0 in favor of Winona State and was Baker’s third of the season and 12th of her career.

In the 37th minute Sydney Shintaffer took a free kick on goal that was tapped into the net by Anna Bondy to cut the score to 2-1.

The second half of the game was tight, as 10 of the total 16 fouls were called. Both the Warriors and the Wolves ended the game with eight fouls each.

Neither team managed to land a goal in the second half leaving the score at 2-1 and giving the Warriors the win.

The Warriors spent the majority of the game on the offensive end, posting a total of 21 shots with eight on goal. The Wolves were limited to seven shots with a trio of those on goal.

“In the second half we pretty much dominated the position and created some opportunities,” Omar said.

Bolton and Meg Riebau ended the afternoon with game-highs in shots, four each, with two of Bolton’s coming on goal. Nicole Sames landed a pair of her three shots at the net, while Baker contributed a couple of shots on goal as well.

Defensively, Oleson needed two saves to post her ninth win in front of the net this season.

The Warriors are on the road again for two games next weekend. Omar said by having the games back-to-back on the weekends, the players do not have to miss as much class.

“Ideally you’d want two days between every game,” Omar said. “We pride ourselves in not missing much class. In Division II it is student first, athlete second.”

Winona State (9-3, 6-3 NSIC) travels to Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday to take on the Cougars at 11 a.m. On Sunday the Warriors will match up against the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in Marshall, Minn. for a 1 p.m. match.