The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s soccer team reversed a recent trend of falling in close matches, defeating the University of Dubuque 1-0 at the Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium Oct. 16.

The game began with intensity, while the Pioneers dominated a majority of game with strong possession and extensive use of the field.

The Pioneers had many goal-scoring opportunities during the first half of the game but struggled getting the ball past UD goalkeeper Tiffany Duncan.

UW-Platteville fired a total of 11 shots on goal throughout the entire game, while UD managed a total of eight shots.

Both teams were fighting hard, consistently pushing and shoving opposing players in order to win and keep possession of the ball, drawing a combined 28 penalties against both teams.

Despite both teams’ effort to break through, the first half ended scoreless.

During the second half, the Pioneers immediately began firing shots on the Spartans’ goal in the fifth and eighth minutes, with one hitting the crossbar and another straying slightly wide.

UW-Platteville continued to dominate the Spartans’ end of the field and in the 33rd minute of the game, senior Corey Daehling took a shot from the 30-yard line, lobbing it over goalkeeper Duncan’s head and into the goal, igniting excitement among the UW-Platteville crowd.

Tensions increased as UD attempted to even out the game in the final 10 minutes, but UW-Platteville held the upper hand and came out victorious.

“Everyone played really well. I was happy that we were up on UD,” Daehling said. “They’re 10-3 right now, so being able to win against them means a lot for us. It feels so good winning a game, especially after playing a really good game, and then to come off with a win on top of it.”

Pioneer head coach Allison Stringer was also pleased with the Pioneers’ performance on the field.

“I think they played really well,” Stringer said. “We knew it would take one to put the game away, but they got it done; [it was] a little later than we wanted to, but that’s all right. That’s a good team that we just beat, so we’re happy right now.”

The Pioneers made some changes on the field at halftime, switching up a few players with two or three different positions, giving the team a slight boost in offense.

However, the most important focus was finding the right connections among the offensive end and putting a goal away, Stringer said.

“I think everyone’s happy. We have a conference game this weekend, so it always helps to get a win going into it; it gets your spirits up,” Stringer said. “To watch them play that tough right before a tough conference game, I can’t really ask for any more. I’m really happy with it and they’re satisfied, so that’s all that matters.”

UW-Platteville was unable to keep that momentum rolling into their match against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Oct. 19, falling 1-0.

The Pioneer and Blugold defenses were on point in the first half, keeping the score 0-0 at halftime.

In the 47th minute, UW-Platteville was called for a handball violation and the Blugolds drilled the penalty kick to give them the decisive goal.

UW-Platteville has just two games left in its regular season.

The Pioneers hit the road for a match against University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before finishing the season at home against University of Wisconsin-Stout.