Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State forward Selena Prolic (8) battles a pair of Winona State defenders for possession of the ball during the Mustangs' 1-0 win over the Warriors in Marshall on Friday night.

MARSHALL — Selena Prolic scored a goal for the Southwest Minnesota State soccer team for the second match in a row to lead the Mustangs to a 1-0 win over Winona State on Friday night. The win marks the second time ever that SMSU has beaten the Warriors.

It was a wet and windy day in Marshall as both teams struggled to maneuver the ball into the attacking zone. Still, the Mustangs’ aggressive game plan helped them brave the elements and come away with a win.

“When you have these type of conditions, it’s a high-risk game, meaning that you encourage your team to shoot because the ball is slick. You know the goalkeeper can’t handle it,” SMSU head coach Clay Glasgow said, adding that games like this can come down to limiting mistakes and he thought his team did just that.

“Defenders can have bad touches, so you always want to be a little bit more attack-minded.”

Prolic’s game-winner came in the 62nd minute. The Mustangs had quickly worked the ball up the side and Haley Mason crossed the ball over to Prolic, who stepped into the one-timer and sent the ball into the left side of the net for a 1-0 SMSU lead.

Glasgow told his team after yesterday’s practice that, based on the scouting reports, he wanted them to shoot aggressively once they reached the attacking third of the field. They outshot the Warriors 11-10 in the match.

“We have to take chances whether it’s shots, second opportunities, at this game, anything can happen,” Glasgow said.

Kenna Conley had another outstanding day in goal for the Mustangs, finishing with seven saves in the win. Conley has now been the keeper in each of the Mustangs’ three wins this season — all of which were clean sheets — and currently has a .830 save percentage.

Competition has been key to Conley’s recent success in goal. Between Conley and Rachel Hicks, the two consistently look to make each other in practice, Glasgow said.

“I’m really proud of [Conley]. She didn’t get any second opportunities because she had a couple of shots and she held it,” Glasgow said. “It comes back down to the weather and her being 100% certain that when she’s going for the balls, you’re going to go for those balls and win it.

“She controlled the game for us. She used her feet a lot to kill time, she’s really good about that.”

The Mustangs had one last scare in the final seconds. With under 10 seconds remaining, Winona State had possession down the sideline outside of the box. They sent a cross in the middle and the shot found the back of the net. Yet, the ball didn’t cross the plane before the clock expired and the horn sounded, rendering the shot null.

“I give them credit, Winona’s a good team and they fought the whole game and didn’t give up… end of the day, you play to the final whistle no matter the score,” Glasgow said. “When we look at tape, we’re going to see how she got free, but at the end of the day, it was very close… You always play until the final whistle but the clock runs out and fortunately, it didn’t count.”

Southwest Minnesota State (3-7-1, 3-4-1 NSIC) sits at 10th place in the NSIC after the win with 10 points. With the top eight teams making the conference tournament and a logjam of Wayne State, Sioux Falls and Concordia-St. Paul at 11 points each, the Mustangs are well within striking distance a year after finishing 12 points away from the tournament. They’ll try to climb up the tables when they host the CSP Golden Bears on Sunday at 1 p.m.