Reagan Johnson/Winonan
On Saturday the Winona State University women’s soccer team competed against the Bemidji State Beavers in Winona at the Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The game was a close matchup with the Warriors ranking fourth in the NSIC and the Beavers ranking fifth.
The Warriors held the advantage in shots making 14 compared to the seven made by the Beavers. Mehan Bolton led in shots for Winona State, making four with two on goal. Meg Riebau had three shots with two on goal and Nicole Sames also made three shots with one on goal. Abby Bohanski, Chase Rehm and Kelsey Foss all recorded shots on goal.
The game ended with neither team scoring to mark the Warrior’s second straight scoreless tie.
“It was a pretty good game. It was one of those games were I felt like we controlled it, we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” senior midfielder Kati Baker said. “We hit the post a few times but just could finish. Overall I thought we played really well as a team.”
“It’s one of those games. Bemidji is a very good defensive team,” head coach Ali Omar said. “They’re very well organized in the back and we had to break them, which we had quite a few opportunities but we made a few mental mistakes or bad touches before we got to the final shot.”
Sunday was senior day for the Warriors as they went up against Minnesota Crookston.
The first half was scoreless for both teams.
In the 57th Bolton made a crossing pass to Baker who put the ball in the net to make the first goal of the game and Baker’s fifth goal of the season.
Just 15 minutes later the Warriors made their second goal when Rehm made an assist to Sames who headed in the ball, marking her first goal of the season and giving Winona State a 2-0 lead.
Omar explained that the Warriors were more technically skilled, which helped them win the game.
“We had the depth. We’re very technical so we wore them out pretty good. We moved them around and were able to put two in there,” Omar said.
Baker explained how senior day encouraged the team to play hard for the win.
“I felt that everyone that stepped on the field really played hard and you could tell that people were playing for the seniors and that all the seniors really played hard for each other,” Baker said.
Player’s Foss and Baker mentioned playing at home also worked to the team’s advantage.
“We always come out a lot stronger when we’re at home,” Foss said.
“Being here with our families and having the fans as support helped us. Being familiar with the field that we practice on everyday definitely has its advantages,” Baker said.
Next Friday the Warriors compete against Minnesota State-Mankato at home.
Omar said that the matchup with the Mavericks will come down to who is the best team.
On Sunday the team travels north to compete against Concordia-St. Paul. These will be the last two season games before the team competes in the conference tournament starting on Nov. 4th.
Omar said the team will focus on getting polished a little more before heading to conference. He added that the team’s health could play a factor.
Baker said the team is coming together at the right time.
“I think we’re really starting to peak as a team and come together so as long as we can keep finishing during games I think we’ll have really good success in the tournament,” Baker said.
Foss added the team wants to come out strong in conference to enable a spot in the NCAA tournament
“We really want to come out strong in those games because it will be a big chance to get to the NCAA tournament,” Foss said.
