Storm shake off slow start, beat Buena Vista 2-0

INDIANOLA - Nicole Pirie's goal in the 57th minute resulted in a collective sigh of relief on the Simpson sidelines.

Having spent a majority of the game in the attacking third of the field, Simpson had nothing to show for it until the freshman's goal made the score 1-0.

Nicole Dillenburg added an insurance goal less than seven minutes later and the Storm (9-4-2, 3-2 Iowa Conference) recovered from the slow start to beat Buena Vista 2-0 on Wednesday at Buxton Stadium.

Simpson - which had never lost to Buena Vista in 14 meetings going into Wednesday - out-shot the Beavers (7-6-1, 1-3) 21-6, holding the conference's leading scorer, Kellyn Arnold, to one shot on goal.

"We weren't transitioning in the first half and weren't moving the ball as quick as possible," second-year head coach Ryan Sander said. "Once we started playing quicker we got the results we needed."

Pirie's goal was nothing short of adventurous. Her offering banged off the cross bar before bouncing in. Katherine Bird assisted on Dillenburg's goal, a hard-hit, left-footed delivery from the top of the box that snuck under the Buena Vista keeper.

Megan Petersen fielded her only two opportunities in goal for the Storm, going the distance between the posts. Turissa Moreland made six saves for Buena Vista.

"Being at the top half of the league is where we wanted to be after tonight," Sander said. "We have a tough game coming up on Saturday but I think we built some confidence tonight."

Next on the slate for the Storm is matchup with conference front-runner Loras. The Duhawks (11-2-1, 4-0-1) battled to a 1-1 tie against Wartburg on Wednesday night. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Buxton Stadium.