Storm make most of opportunities in 3-1 win over Platteville

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Freshman Baileigh Nagy scored one goal and assisted on another, Madeline Schulenberg made 12 saves, and the Simpson women's soccer team beat Wis.-Platteville 3-1 on Wednesday night at Buxton Stadium.

The Storm (1-2) scored three unanswered goals after getting in an early 1-0 hole to give first-year head coach Jeremy Reinert his first win as a collegiate head coach. Despite being outshot 25-7, Simpson made the most of its opportunities and relied on Schulenberg to turn away Platteville's chances.

"This was a special first win for our program," Reinert said. "The willingness of our players to fight for each other and do what it takes to reward hard work led to a fun night of high-level soccer."

Just over two minutes after Ashley Peck gave the Pioneers (1-1) a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute, Jessica Payne rifled a shot from 30 yards out that snuck under the crossbar for the equalizer. Mackenzie Finnegan scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the 36th minute when she received a cross from Nagy and found the back of the net from 15 yards out.

Nagy added an insurance goal in the 70th minute off a cross by Kaitlyn Bravek that was flicked by Dani Marquez.

"While the night wasn't mistake free I thought we managed the game and executed our game plan," Reinert said. "Platteville was a strong side with some dangerous pieces up top and in the middle. We knew our defensive unit would have to hold strong to an attack-minded team and that our attacking group would need to be the more opportunistic unit."

Schulenberg made eight of her 12 saves in the second half to help the Storm snap a seven-game losing streak dating back to the 2017 season. The win is the second of her career.

Up Next
The Storm travel to Galesburg, Ill. to face Knox on Saturday, Sept. 8. Start time is set for 2 p.m.