NEW ULM, Minn. - For the second time this season the Bethany women's soccer team went into halftime scoreless with Martin Luther and it was once again Olaitz Azkue who scored the game-winner less than five minutes into the second half as the Vikings went on to defeat the Knights 2-0. With the win Bethany moves to 7-4-1 overall and 6-2 in the UMAC while MLC goes to 4-7-2 overall and 2-5-1 in conference play.

"The First half today was frustrating as we got into some really nice positions but struggled to pull the trigger," said Head Coach Emma Morris. "We found the elements tough to deal with and then let our heads goo down. However, we're proud of how the girls came out in the second half. They took that frustration and turned it into a positive, dug deep, played cleaner more precise passes and got the reward. Brooke was outstanding today coming up with some big saves to claim the clean sheet. She's proving day in and day out why she's a 3x UMAC Defensive Player of the Week this season."

When the Vikings and Knights squared off earlier this season, Bethany controlled much of the first half but couldn't muster a goal as the teams went into the break scoreless and this contest proved to be much of the same. Bethany outshot MLC 7-5 in the half and had a few good chances but couldn't convert and Brooke Wolanin made two saves in net to keep the Knights at bay. 

In the same manner as when the teams played the first time, it was Asia Jota who played a ball to Azkue who would put it home for the game-winning goal early in the second half of this one. Unlike the first contest though the Vikings would net another goal late to all but seal the victory, as Noa Txintxurreta scored her first goal of the season in the 77th minute with another assist going to Jota to get Bethany the 2-0 victory.

Wolanin was once again strong in net, making eight saves while allowing no goals in the win

Bethany will be back at it on Friday when they take on Northland at 3:30 p.m.