Wayne State stayed in the hunt for the postseason with three first-half goals as the Wildcats defeated St. Cloud State 3-1 in Northern Sun Conference action Sunday in St. Cloud, Minn.
The Wildcats opened the scoring quickly, credited with an own goal at the 1:45 mark, to take and early 1-0 advantage. They made it 2-0 at the 11:56 mark when senior Kelsey Engstrom recorded her first goal of the season, and the Wildcats found the net again in the closing moments of the first half when Natalie Rech found the back of the net for an unassisted goal, her fourth of the year. St. Cloud State avoided the shutout with just under 17 minutes to play when Kelli Santo Paulo scored a goal.
Rech and Engstrom led WSC with one goal each while Hannah Knight had a team-high three shots on goal as Wayne State was outshot 16-10. Suenly Galvez also had a shot on goal for the Wildcats. Goalkeeper Kylie Comba earned the win by notching six saves and allowing just one goal.
Wayne State (8-5-3, 5-5-3 NSIC) are tied with Northern State for the eighth and final spot in the Northern Sun Conference tournament. They will play their final home game of the season on Friday, hosting Sioux Falls in a 3 p.m. contest followed by the regular-season finale on Sunday at Southwest Minnesota State starting at 1 p.m.
