WINONA, Minn. – The No. 18 Winona State soccer team used five second half goals to run away with a dominating 6-1 victory over Sioux Falls Saturday afternoon at Warrior Stadium.
Shauna Rodman and Darian Molter each scored twice for the Warriors to lead the squad to its most goals scored in a game since it netted seven goals against Northern State more than two years ago on September 29, 2012.
It was the Cougars that scored first goal in the match, when Ciara Howerton scored in the 9th minute to put her team up 1-0, but the Warriors would add six unanswered goals from that point.
WSU tied up the game when Rodman scored her third goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 37th minute to go into halftime with a 1-1 tie despite outshooting the Cougars 13-3 and controlling the ball in their zone for most of the opening 45 minutes.
The Warriors came out of the break with a fury of goals, beginning with Rodman's would-be game-winning goal and second of the game less than a minute into the half to put WSU up 2-1.
Darian Molter put WSU up 4-1 with the Warriors' next two goals less than four minutes apart in the 52nd and 56th minutes – the latter of which came on an assist from Meg Riebau to give Molter her fifth and sixth goals of the year to lead the team.
Winona State wasn't done yet, scoring again in the 60th minute when a corner kick from Alaina Kne resulted in a goal by Nicole Sames for her third of the year to put the Warriors up 5-1.
Freshman Holly Berling scored her second goal of the season in the 73rd minute to put the final nail in the coffin, scoring on a pair of assists from Kati Baker and Elizabeth Fritz for a 6-1 final score.
WSU peppered Sioux Falls with a season-high 28 shots while holding the Cougars to just seven of their own. The Warriors put 16 of those shots on goal while USF managed just four. The Warriors also held a 10-1 advantage on corner kicks.
Winona State (12-1, 9-1 NSIC) returns to action Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup at Warrior Stadium against Southwest Minnesota State.