Seniors lift Storm over Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa - It took more than 60 minutes, but the Simpson women's soccer team took care of business.

Katherine Bird's goal 63 minutes into the contest broke a scoreless tie and Megan Petersen turned in her second clean card of the season in the Storm's 2-0 win over Central on a chilly Wednesday night at Buxton Stadium.

After a slow first half, the Storm (10-6-2, 4-3 Iowa Conference) shifted gears in the final frame.

A senior, Bird started the scoring with a nifty goal, beating Central's oncoming goalkeeper and chipping a shot into the right net from the left wing. Fellow senior Nicole Dillenburg added to the lead in the 77th minute when she hammered a straight-on delivery from the top of the penalty box.

Petersen made four saves in the shutout.

The Dutch (9-6, 2-4) out-shot Simpson 3-2 in the first half but couldn't find quality looks in the second. Alayna Bailey put two shots on goal and Steph Hasken made three saves.

The Storm return to action this weekend when they travel to Decroah for the regular season conference finale against Luther. Simpson and the Norse (8-7-1, 4-2) are tied for third in the Iowa Conference race. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.