BEMIDJI, MINN. – After starting the week with two wins Minot State University soccer head coach Jason Spain still knew his team needed to improve if they were going to go to Bemidji State and win.
 
After beating Minnesota Crookston 1-0 on the road Spain said there was still a lot of improvements his team needed to make if they were going to win back-to-back away games. His team must have made those improvements because they defeated Bemidji State by a score of 4-1.
 
With 30 seconds ticked off the clock Ninfa Ramirez (Jr., Perris, Calif.) scored her fourth goal of the season for Minot State (5-1, 3-0). That goal marks the second quickest goal in MSU history. Earlier in the week Ramirez scored a goal in one minute and 32 seconds against Mary for another top five spot in the record books.
 
Later in the game, scoring their first two goals of the season, Chloe Melton (Jr., Fleet England) and Andrea Franco (Fr., Long Beach, Calif.) hit shots that were both assisted by Ramirez putting the MSU Beavers up 3-1.
 
"This was the best game we have played all year," Spain said. "We really controlled the match from the opening whistle against a very good team."
 
Finishing the game with an unassisted goal was freshman Taryn Love (Minot, N.D.) who scored two goals earlier in the week against Mary.
 
In three conference games this week to start NSIC play Minot State won its games by controlling the ball on defense as well as offense. Allowing only one goal all week that wasn't provided by a penalty kick. Scoring that goal was Bemidji State's Sarah Stram who hit the back of the net for the fifth time this season.
 
"Defensively Emilie [Rebelo] and Haley [Lolmaugh] dominated the entire weekend," Spain said.
 
Over the weekend MSU shut out Minnesota Crookston and held Bemidji State to one goal. So far this season BSU has averaged two goals per game.
 
Minot State will be back on the road next weekend as they play at Southwest Minnesota State on September 26 at 12 p.m. and at Sioux Falls on September 27 at 1 p.m.
 
About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.