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Florian’s first-half goal and assist sparked the No. 5 ranked Winona State University women’s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Lewis (Ill.) on Sunday at Maxwell Field at Alltel Stadium.
Florian’s goal in the 37th minute, off an assist from Melissa Sellier, broke a scoreless tie. Fifty-four seconds later, Florian set up Sellier, another Warriors reserve, to put WSU up 2-0.
“(Florian’s) doing exactly what I want her to do,” Warriors coach Ali Omar said. “She comes in, had a goal and an assist, I can’t ask for anything more.”
Martha Curtiss scored on assists from Lauren Sturdivant and Jordyn Strege early in the second half for the Warriors’ final tally.
Warriors freshman goalkeeper Anna Belpedio made two saves in the shutout, improving her shutout streak to 225 minutes.
A 13-game starter last season, Florian is tied for second on the team with four goals — all off the bench — this season. The senior forward also leads the Warriors with three game-winning goals.
“There’s an advantage,” Florian said. “Especially with the help from the other coaches, looking at all aspects of the field, so when you go out there you know that one thing you need to do to change things around.”
It was the seventh win in a row for the Warriors, who haven’t lost since their lone defeat Aug. 30.
In four games since cracking the top-10 of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas rankings Sept. 16 — the current No. 5 rank is the highest in program history — the Warriors (8-1-0) have outscored their opponents 14-1.
Still, as the collective target on the national elite Warriors back has grown, so too has in-house expectation.
Or, as Omar put it: “We won the games, we got the ranking. I’m not going to turn it down.”
The Warriors outshot Lewis 10-3, including a 6-2 shots on goal advantage.
Sturdivant, the Warriors’ leading scorer, looked to have scored her seventh goal of the season to put WSU up 4-0 in the second half, but was called offsides.
The nonconference home game came amidst a stretch of five of six games on the road. All five road games are in the NSIC, where the Warriors are off to a 3-0 start.
