BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Golden Bears (3-3-1, 3-1-0 NSIC) picked up their third straight win with a huge conference victory on the road against the Bemidji State Beavers (3-2-2, 2-1-1 NSIC) in the Battle for "Priam the Pig" on Sunday at the BSU Soccer Complex.
 
Coach Steve Bellis stated, "Today's match was a great advertisement for NCAA Division II soccer. Bemidji is an awesome program and today we just pipped them to the victory." 
 
"It feels good to get the two wins (this week), but we know we need to stay consistent right now to achieve our goals", Bellis continued.

Junior Katie Anderson led the Golden Bears with the game winning goal in the match to avenge the Golden Bears' 2021 NSIC Championship loss to the Beavers, and hand the Beavers their first NSIC regular season loss since 2019 and first NSIC home loss since 2016. Ashlyn Waldon also played a key role at goalie in the victory by holding the Beavers scoreless with a pair of saves in the match.
 
"It was a great team performance from the entire squad and staff today. It's hard to single players out. However, our captains today were magnificent leaders on and off the field", Bellis concluded.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Bears and Beavers were neck and neck at the end of the first half, as each team had four shots.
 
K. Anderson led the Golden Bears in the first half with all four of their first-half shots. Her lone shot on goal in the half came in the 15th minute of play.
 
Waldon would record her first save of the game in the 42nd minute, as she collected the shot low from the Beavers in the middle of the goal.
 
As the first half was ending, the Beavers nearly broke the tie in the 45th minute with a penalty kick taken by Miah Olson after the Golden Bears committed a foul in the box. However, the shot would deflect off the left side of the goalpost and fall out of play.
 
In the 71st minute, K. Anderson scored her third goal of the season to give the Golden Bears the 1-0 edge over the Beavers.
 
A couple of minutes after the goal in the 73rd minute, the Beavers made a strong push down the field with a shot on goal, but Waldon was able to snag the attempt in the middle of the goal.
 
The Beavers would have one last attempt at a goal in the closing seconds of the match, but the shot would sail high and to the right of the goal.
 
PLAYERS OF NOTE

• K. Anderson finished with a match high six shots (three on goal) and a goal
• Waldon collected two saves in her sixth start in goal this season
• Haley Rudebusch, Harper Smoot and Tori Miller all played the full 90 minutes
• Abby Kloiber recorded a shot from the bench

 
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will look to keep up their momentum, as they return home to Sea Foam Stadium this upcoming week with a pair of games against Northern State at 7 p.m. and MSU Moorhead at 1 p.m.