WINONA, Minn. – The fourth-seeded Winona State soccer team opens NSIC Tournament play Wednesday when it hosts fifth-seeded St. Cloud State at 5 p.m. at Altra Federal Credit Union Stadium.
The Warriors advanced to the tournament's championship game last season, falling to host Minnesota State 1-0 in the finals.
LAST TIME vs. SCSU: The Warriors fell to St. Cloud State 1-0 on September 21 at Husky Stadium in St. Cloud. Alexis Starr scored in the 84th minute on an assist from Maria Kass for the game-winner. WSU held a 9-6 advantage in shots, but the Huskies had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Each team had four saves, while the Huskies led 6-3 in corner kicks.
SERIES HISTORY WITH SCSU: Despite falling to the Huskies earlier this season, the Warriors hold a commanding 17-3-2 edge in the series history dating back to 1996. Before the early season defeat, WSU had won the past 13 meetings with the Huskies, with St. Cloud State's previous last victory coming in the 2003 season. The Warriors and Huskies have met just one other time in postseason play, a 3-0 WSU victory in the opening round of the 2012 NSIC Tournament in Winona.
WHAT A VICTORY WOULD MEAN: A win Wednesday would send WSU to the NSIC Tournament Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 6 against the winner of top-seed Minnesota State and eight-seed Concordia-St. Paul at 2 or 3 p.m. at the highest remaining seed. The winner of that game would play for the championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the same site as Friday's games.
REGION RANKINGS: The Winona State soccer team held steady at No. 5 in the Oct. 28 NCAA Central Region Rankings. The top six teams earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, which will be held Nov. 13-15 and Nov. 20-22. The Warriors are seeking their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and seventh in program history.
BOHANSKI'S BRILLIANCE: Freshman Abby Bohanski brought her first regular season to a close in fitting fashion, notching her first career two-goal game, including the game-winner in overtime to lift WSU to a 2-1 win at Concordia-St. Paul. Bohanski has 10 goals this season, the most by a Warrior since Melissa Sellier finished with 10 in the 2011 season.
YOU CAN COUNT ON BAKER: Senior Kati Baker has a knack for coming up with clutch goals. All five of Baker's goals this season have been game winners. The last time a Warrior had five game winners in a season was in 2010, when Jennifer DeRoo had five on 11 total goals.
SOLID GOALKEEPING: Sophomore Rachel Oleson leads the league with an NSIC-best 10 shutouts this season. She also ranks third in the NSIC in goals against average at 0.70, currently slightly better than her 0.72 mark a year ago. Oleson has let in just 13 goals this season.
