MANKATO, Minn. – The Winona State women's team battled, but fell 1-0 to No. 1 Minnesota State in the U.S. Bank/NSIC Tournament Championship in Mankato on Sunday.

Freshman goalkeeper Rachel Oleson kept Winona State (15-5-1) in the match by recording a season-high nine saves, but the WSU offense couldn't manage to muster enough offense to keep up with top rated Minnesota State (21-0-0).

Oleson was busy right away as she recorded three saves in the first 20 minutes. However, MSU defender Sidni Trotter put in her first goal of the in the 23rd minute off of a corner kick to give Minnesota State an early 1-0 advantage.

The Warriors finally got off their first shot of the game on a strike by Nicole Sames at the 27 minute mark, but a save by MSU goalkeeper Molly McGough kept WSU off the board.

Darian Molter had the only other opportunity for Winona State to equalize at the 38-minute mark, but another Maverick save allowed Minnesota State to keep the lead going into halftime.

Winona State's offense struggled to try and find a rhythm in the second half against a stingy Maverick defense. The Warriors only managed three shots in the second half and were unable to put an attempt on goal. 

The Warrior defense held steady against an aggressive Maverick attack. The Mavericks attempted 13 shots in the second half and Oleson added four more saves to the five she recorded in the first half.

However, in the end, it was the Mavericks defense that kept Winona State's offense silent as the Warriors could only manage two shots on goal and ten shots for the entire game. 

In the meantime, WSU allowed a season high in shots allowed with 27 and in shots on goal with 10 all the while shooting season lows in shots with eight and shots on goal with two.

Despite the loss, Winona State after a solid week in the NSIC Tournament will await to see if they will play in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament. 

The Warriors were ranked No. 5 in last week's regional rankings, just behind No. 3 Augustana who lost in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament, No. 4 Southwest Baptist who lost in the MIAA Tournament Championship, and just ahead of No. 6 Central Oklahoma and No. 7 Fort Hays State, who both lost in the MIAA Tournament Semi-Finals. The top six teams make the regional tournament.

Winona State will find out if it will make the tournament when the pairings will be revealed on Monday at 6 p.m. Watch the selection show live by clicking here.