By: Joe Hansen

The University of Minnesota Duluth soccer team earned its first regular season victory in ten seasons over conference rival Winona State University on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Warriors 2-1 at Malosky Stadium.

Winona State's defense told the story of the first half, holding UMD scoreless despite taking 12 shots in the frame. With the wind at their back, the Bulldogs kept the ball in their offensive zone for most of the period but could not get past WSU's Alexandra Vial.

Junior forward Maureen Stormont scored both goals for UMD, the first an unassisted score just 2:41 into the second half. The second came just moments later as junior defender Riley Allen turned a Winona State attack back upfield to Dani Potter, who fed a pass through the defense to Stormont, who put the Bulldogs up 2-0. The Warriors suddenly turned on the offensive, out-shooting the Bulldogs 7-4 in the final frame.

UMD's defense bent but did not break as WSU's Hadley Bales netted her first of the season in the 71st minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Marissa Rosa had four saves for the Bulldogs. Vial finished with five for Winona State. In total, UMD took 16 shots in the game (seven on net) with the Warriors taking 11 (five shots on goal). The Bulldogs last defeated Winona State during the 2009 NSIC postseason, but had not defeated the Warriors in the regular season since 2003.

UMD hit the road next weekend for a pair of NSIC matches. They cross the border for a meeting with the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday with an 11:00 a.m. opening kick before facing Southwest Minnesota State on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. kick-off.