Alex Swatloski (Green Bay, WI, East) had a goal in the fourth minute and Eryn Lansverk (White Bear Lake, MN, White Bear Lake) had two assists to lead the Falcons to their third straight victory. Beth Crane (Blaine, MN, Blaine) and Anna Kouba (Lino Lakes, MN, Centennial) also had goals in the win as the Falcons topped Bethel on Wednesday night at Ramer Field.
UWRF continued their impressive winning streak that started last Saturday with a 2-1 victory over #19 ranked UW-Stevens Point and continued last Sunday with a 7-1 win over Ripon College. Wednesday night's win at Ramer Field saw the Falcons continue a great stretch as they topped Bethel, 3-1.The Royals came into the game with an overall record of 7-1-1.
The Falcons scored on their first shot of the game at 4:39 as Swatloski took a great cross from Alyssa Manor (Stillwater, MN, Stillwater), who was fed by Lansverk, and put the ball past Royal goaltender Alyssa Riggs for her second goal of the season giving the Falcons an early 1-0 lead.
The Royals had a couple of chances to get on the board in the middle of the first half. At 19:28 Bethel got their first corner kick chance of the game, but the Royals could not control the ball and take a shot in front of Thompson. At 24:25 Carrie Kishaba's corner sailed over the heads of her teammates and the Falcons took possession.
On that possession Swatloski had a chance to net her second goal, but her shot sailed high and deflected off the crossbar.
At 41:45, the Falcons had a couple chances in front including a close shot by Riki Dornfeld (Hugo, MN, White Bear Lake) that was saved by Riggs. UWRF turned up the pressure and took possession of the ball just after the goal and looked for to go up 2-0.
At 44:05, the Falcons did just that. Hanna Danke (River Falls, WI, River Falls) made a great forward pass to Crane who beat Riggs on a beautiful shot to the top right corner of the net. That was Crane's second goal of the season and it gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead at halftime.
UWRF continued to pressure the Royals and look for quick scoring chances in the second half.
Just seven minutes into the second half, Kouba took a on-target centering pass from Lansverk and put it in the back of the net to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead.
The Royals did not give up in the second half, however, as they would put their only goal of the game on the board just 14 seconds after Kouba's goal.
At 53:03, Sophie Christiansen recorded her fifth goal of the season when beat Thompson on the bottom right side of the net and made the score 3-1.
The Falcons then solidified their third straight victory as they turned up their defensive pressure and held the Royals to two shots in the final 37 minutes of the game giving them a 3-1 win.
UWRF outshot Bethel, 8-6, in the first half and 12-9 in the second half.
Thompson had six saves for the Falcons. Riggs had seven saves for Bethel.
Swatloski, Crane, and Kouba all scored their second goals of the season. Lansverk continued her impressive play as she now has five goals and two assists in the last three games.
Manor had four shots in the game and both Shaunna Joyce (Lakeville, MN, North) and Janae Baron (Hermantown, MN, Hermantown) each had two shots.
Bethel had five corner kick chances in the game. UWRF had four.
UWRF improves to 4-8 overall after the win. Bethel falls to 7-2-1 overall after the loss.
The Falcons will now travel to Eau Claire on Saturday for a WIAC matchup as they take on the Blugolds at 11:30 a.m.
Box Score
