BISMARCK, ND – Pulling out the brooms for the first time this season, the University of Mary women's soccer team swept their weekend series. Rallying behind second half goals from Lisa Swärdh and Michelle McGeary, the Marauders knocked off visiting Winona State University 2-1.
 
The victory over the Warriors comes on the heels of the Marauders 2-1 win over Upper Iowa on Saturday. Mary improves to 3-6-3 overall and 3-5-2 in the Northern Sun. The pair of wins also bumps Mary three slots in the standings to 12^th and just four points out of eighth place with five games to play. The top eight teams in the final conference standings advance to the NSIC tournament.
 
Winona State slipped to 6-7-1 and 3-7-1.
 
Both teams had scoring opportunities right out of the gate but it was the Warriors who converted first. In the 12^th minute of play, Abby Bohanski cut through the Marauders defense to the right before reversing the ball against the grain. Passing back to her left, Bohanski found Courtney Wieneck ten yards outside the net for a one-timer. Wieneck buried the ball into an open net and the Warriors led 1-0.
 
Despite working against a 29 mile an hour wind during the opening half, the Marauders soon began to take control of the contest and fired the last four shots before intermission.
 
With the wind now behind the Marauders backs for the second half, a set piece off a Winona State foul turned the tide Mary's direction. Swärdh lined up for a free kick from 45 yards out and unleashed a rocket. The freshman from Karlsrona, Sweden, struck the ball perfectly and placed her blast just under the crossbar to knot the game 1-1 in the 63^rd minute. It was the midfielder's second goal of the season.
 
Winona State pressed hard to take the lead but Mary's defense held until the Marauders could find the perfect opportunity to strike.
 
With the game getting late, the Marauders perfectly transitioned from defense to offense. Emily Julian, who scored the game-winning goal against the Peacocks on Saturday off a feed from McGeary, returned the favor. The sophomore forward rushed the ball down the right numbers before passing back to the left numbers. McGeary gathered the ball and unleashed a blast 15 yards out from just inside the top corner of the penalty box.  The senior captain's shot found the top of the net at 75:23 to give the Marauders a one-goal lead.
 
Mary then turned the game over to its defense. WSU attempted just two shots in the final 14 minutes of play, the last resulting in a save by Elizabeth Heintzman.
 
Both teams generated 11 shots in the game with WSU holding a minor 5-4 advantage in shots on frame. Mary held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks but the Marauders committed 16 fouls to eight for the Warriors.
 
Heintzman made four saves to record her second straight win. Rachel Oleson had two for Winona State.
 
The Marauders win snapped a five-game losing streak against the Warriors. It was the first time Mary had beaten Winona State since the 2006 Northern Sun title game and the first home win ever for the Marauders in the series.
 
Mary starts a four-game road trip at Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Marauders are next home Oct. 30 against MSU Moorhead in their regular season finale.
 
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