Dan Noth/Winonan

The Winona State women’s soccer team was clicking on all cylinders this weekend, as their offense exploded for a 7-1 victory over Northern State on Saturday and 5-1 win Sunday against Minnesota State-Moorhead.

In Saturday’s blowout, six different Warriors scored, starting in the seventh minute when Alaina Kne connected with the back of the net from 30 yards out.

The Warriors would add another quick goal a little over a minute later when Caitlin Lily took a pass from Rebecca McCoy and sent it to the back of the net.

Winona State would end up scoring four goals in the first 11 minutes.

Freshman Bolton scored her first career goal in the 56th minute to add to her assist in the first half.

The seven goals scored were the most since the Warriors put eight away in 2008 against Upper Iowa.

“It was a good game, it was a good team win,” said Coach Ali Omar “we shared the ball well and found the open player at the right time.”

A big part of the success this weekend was the team’s ability to capitalize on set pieces when they got them.

The Warriors scored on three corner kicks and one free kick.

The Warriors 10 freshman with them on the road trip that took them on an eight hour bus ride, but they were all able to contribute to the winning effort.

“It’s not easy to travel eight hours to play a game and travel three more to play another the next day,” said Omar “But it makes the drive home much easier and faster when you win them both.”

The Warriors continued the offensive barrage on Sunday, scoring five goals and improving their record to 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the NSIC conference.

Bolton was a big factor in the win over MSU-Moorhead, scoring two goals in the game, which raised her weekend total to three, plus an assist.

The Warriors scored all five goals within 16 minutes during the second half.

Bolton started the scoring in the 52nd minute and added another less then a minute later.

Kne added her second goal of the weekend to bring the lead up to three goals. Moorhead tried to keep it close with a goal but goals from McCoy and Lily put the game out of reach with a score of 5-1 in the 59th minute.

Winona State took 20 shots and put 12 on goal, compared to the six shots the defense allowed.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alexandra Vial made six saves on Saturday and four on Sunday.

Despite allowing both teams to score this weekend, the defense has been superb for the Warriors, allowing just three goals against NSIC opponents this season.

Bolton, Kne and Lily are tied with three goals on the season to lead the Warriors offense while Katy Soliday has a commanding lead in the assists category, racking up six already on the season. Soliday is second in the conference in assists, one behind leader Nicole Dooher from Minnesota State.

The Warriors will return to action this weekend at home, playing Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday and Sioux Falls on Sunday.

Contact Dan at [email protected]