Winona State overpowering in the first defeated SMSU 3-2 on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Schwan Regional Event Center.
Sophomore midfielder Abby Bohanski of Winona State opened the score board with an assist from forward Courtney Wiecnek at the 16:14 mark of the first half. The duo was followed up by senior forward Meg Reibau assisted by sophomore forward Darian Molter at the 33:26 mark in the first half to make the score 2-0. Roughly 30 seconds later, Reibough got her second goal of the game unassisted, giving Winona a three-point lead.
Bound and determined, it took SMSU’s Amanda Hartmann only five seconds to run the length of the field and score off an assist from Alexandra Miskowiec to end the half making it 3-1 Winona State.
The second half was very defensive but productive for the Mustangs as Katlyn Toner scored a goal from roughly 20 yards out to bring SMSU within one point.
“It was pretty exciting, I mean Hoffman passed it back to me and I just decided I wanted it,” said Toner. “My coach has been telling me all season to find those crosses in. I think my foot just found it and it went in; with the help of my teammates I got the goal.”
SMSU had seven shots on goal to Winona’s five but Winona also had eight fouls to SMSU’s six. Head Coach Erin Kasmarik-Mallett said the the Mustangs struggled for possession.
“The high point for us was that we went down by three goals and were really able to fight our way back into that game,” said Kasmarik-Mallett. “We had some chances and just didn’t quite have enough to be able to get the result for sure.”
That would wrap it up for the Mustangs as the Winona Warriors would hang on to win 3-2. SMSU falls to 3-6 on the season while Winona State improves to 3-5-1. The Mustangs play St. Cloud State at Schwan Regional Event Center at 1 pm this Saturday October 15.