The concordia-st. Paul women's soccer team pulled off another first in school history, defeating perennial northern sun power and the #7 team in the nation, winona state 1-0 on wednesday afternoon in a non-conference clash between the two nsic teams at concordia field.

the golden bears not only defeated a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time, it was also their first win over winona state in school history. The warriors are also ranked first in the central region poll, with the national and regional polls conducted by the nscaa.

senior hillary johnson drilled the game-winning goal from just outside the box on a pass from freshman kari janes and brittany brandt with 16:50 remaining in the contest (pictured below).



the golden bears dominated the first half of action, holding possession of the ball in winona state territory throughout. Johnson drilled a shot just over wsu's goalkeeper amanda kramer's hands but it collided with the crossbar. The rebound shot by sophomore katie johnson was saved by the warriors, snapping the best scoring threat for either team in the first half.

late in the game with concordia leading 1-0, winona state's molly blum had a clear shot on goal on a free kick but golden bear goalkeeper keyton wheelock stepped in front of the shot for the save at 88:52 to thwart the warriors last threat (pictured below).



wheelock finished with six saves, facing 16 shots to record the shutout in the net.

johnson fired a team-high six shots, three on goal and was a force on the offensive end for the bears, who took ten shots, seven on goal in the contest as a team.

winona state countered with 16 shots, six on goal but came up empty in the loss.

in the eighth minute, wsu starting goalkeeper amanda diehm left the game with an injury after facing one shot, recording one save.

kramer relieved diehm, playing 82:41 in the net, earning five saves while facing nine shots. Kramer took the loss, allowing the second half goal.

the golden bears continue their four game homestand this friday, september 7 at 4:00 when they host upper iowa. They close out the home stretch on sunday, september 9 against st. Cloud state at 1:00.

box score - csp 1, winona state 0