The winds whipped towards Lake Superior and the east end of the field as the University of Minnesota Duluth netted a first-half score to edge Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference rival the University of Sioux Falls 1-0 at Malosky Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
UMD (4-5-0, 4-2-0 NSIC) out-shot the Cougars 14-0 in the opening frame with the wind at their backs, but were held silent in the second half as Sioux Falls (0-8-1, 0-6-0 NSIC) put the pressure on the Bulldog defense.
HIGHLIGHTS• Senior forward
Maureen Stormont netted her sixth goal of the season, chipping a bouncing ball past a rushing goalkeeper to give the Bulldogs their lone score of the season. Freshman defender
Emily Fleissner earned her first career assist on the goal, with a second going to senior defender
Riley Allen.
• Senior goalkeeper
Marissa Rosa made six saves, all in the second, to preserve her third shutout of the season. She's allowed just three total goals in five starts this season.
The wind kept the ball from going across the midfield line for much of the first half as UMD poured on the attack against USF sophomore 'keeper Cheyanne Carpenter, who made 10 saves in the opening half. Stormont's score came in the 33rd minute when UMD and the wind again stifled a Cougar push downfield, allowing Allen and Fleisner to turn the ball around on two touches to Stormont right in front of the net. In the second half, it was Sioux Falls who had the wind at their backs and they made use of it, keeping the pressure on Rosa. The Bulldogs would turn the ball upwind enough to maintain the shutout, and actually outshot USF 7-6 in the second, the defense holding tight despite the adverse conditions.
Freshman midfielder Elisa Martinez led the way for the Cougars with three shots in the second half but UMD's defense maintained the shutout. Stormont and sophomore midfielder
Marissa Ganske would lead the Bulldogs with five shots each. In total, UMD out-shot USF 21-7, including 12-6 in on-target attempts
UP NEXTUMD will look to bounce back to .500 when the Bulldogs play host to Southwest Minnesota State University tomorrow afternoon at Malosky Stadium. Opening kick is set for 1:00 p.m.
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