OMAHA, Neb. – The Dakota Wesleyan women's soccer team began a two-game road trip on Saturday as they clashed with College of Saint Mary in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. DWU outpaced College of Saint Mary running away with a 4-2 victory and notching their fourth-consecutive victory to begin the season.
The Tigers (4-0, 2-0 GPAC) found their groove in the first period as Alyssa Weidler (Sioux Falls, S.D) found the back of the net thanks to an Alondra Partida (Salinas, Calif.) assist in the 17th minute to snatch a 1-0 lead. Weidler's goal now places her just three goals short of tying the all-time career goals scored in DWU women's soccer history. The offensive fireworks continued later in the first period when Josephine Bardsley (Tea, S.D.) tallied another score in the 27th minute to give DWU a 2-0 edge.
However, the Flames (1-1-1, 1-1-1 GPAC) responded quickly in the 35th minute with a score of their own to pull within one. The Blue and Gray notched an insurance goal to close out the first period as Hannah Dalebout (Roy, Utah) tallied her first goal of the season off a Bardsley assist in the 42nd minute giving DWU a 3-1 lead heading into the locker room.
The Tigers continued their offensive momentum into the second period when Partida also secured her first goal of the season off an assist from Courtney Mascarenas (Pueblo, Colo.) in the 47th minute to push the lead to 4-1.
Despite surrendering a score midway through the period, the Blue and Gray cruised to a 4-2 victory to remain undefeated. DWU now sits just one game out of first place in the conference behind Concordia University.
On the attack, the Tigers were paced by Bardsley who recorded a career-high in shots and shots on goal with five and seven, respectively. She notched both a goal and assist as well while Partida also tallied a goal and assist off four shots to pace the Tiger scoring. Defensively, DWU was led by Alissa Betz (Bismarck, N.D.) who snatched eight saves as DWU totaled 18 shots and six corner kicks to secure the victory.
The Blue and Gray will return to the pitch for a 5 p.m. start verses Dordt University on Wednesday in Sioux Center, Iowa.