AUSTIN For Katie Pearce, it was just two years ago when her first season at the helm of the Winona girls soccer program resulted in a 1-9 record.

Never in her wildest dreams could she have envisioned this.

Never did she think that in her third season the Winhawks would be making history like they just did on Tuesday night.

Utilizing their blazing speed and quickness, the No. 3-seeded Winhawks knocked off unbeaten and top-seeded Byron 2-1 to punch the program's first ticket to the state tournament on Tuesday night at a chilly Art Hass Stadium in Austin.

In fact, it's the first state appearance in the school's soccer history (boys or girls) and comes in a season that the Winhawks started 0-4-1.

"We've definitely come a long way," Pearce said. "The girls have worked so hard. We made so many adjustments. It worked. It paid off."

"It just feels surreal," said senior Gwenyth Buswell, who played meaningful minutes for that 1-9 squad. "I mean it doesn't feel real. We're just so happy. I'm so proud of everyone on this team. We've worked so hard to get here. We couldn't have asked for a better game."

It was Buswell that put the Winhawks (12-5-2) on the board, uncorking a wicked right-footed shot from 30-yards out that beat the keeper for a 1-0 lead just 93 seconds into the game. It sent the Winona bench and the Winhawks' faithful into a frenzy.

Yet, top-seeded Byron (15-1-3) stayed calm and found the equalizer on a long shot from Payton Satzke with about 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

The rest of the first half saw good pace and play, but after halftime is when Winona began to control a bit.

Sophomore midfielder Adriana Brenengen was sensational, jump-starting the offense a number of times by dribbling the course of the field after providing support defensively.

Her, Buswell, Faith Quinn and Alivia Bell put tremendous amount of stress on the Byron defense all night.

"We knew that they were quick," Byron coach Jeremy Baumbach said. "We tried to match the quickness in the middle. It was just two good teams going at it. The last two years that we played, it was 1-1 and 0-0. So somebody had to break and unfortunately it was us. Tip of the cap to the Winhawks, they will represent our section quite well."

The Byron back end held up well until they mishandled a clearance attempt about 45 yards out from goal. It was only a moment, but it was all Bell needed.

The eighth-grader displayed impressive speed and strength, fending off the Byron defenders to corral the mistake, before beating the keeper with a well-placed shot. Bell's team-best 16th goal of the season gave Winona a 2-1 lead with just over 26 minutes left.

The lead was safe as the Winona defense was strong throughout.

The Winhawks stifled a Byron team that had averaged over 3.5 goals per game, frustrating the Bears along with prolific scorer Paige Halder. Sophomore Anna Gilmer had a big role in that.

Gilmer was Halder's shadow going wherever she went, becoming an unrelenting pest for the 21-goal scoring Halder.

"We weren't planning on man-marking," Pearce said. "But Anna does such a good job at just being so tight on different players. It frustrates them. ... It frustrated Halder enough where it worked. I think she barely touched the ball."

Byron put threatening pressure with about 10 minutes remaining and nearly found the equalizer when a long shot got caught up in the wind. It nearly sailed over the head of keeper Benna Wells, before the junior batted it down. Yet, the ball was still loose in the box and it seemed Wells almost laid on it with her back, before securing the ball.

It would be Byron's last chance, as the Winhawks were able to ride it out from there and make history in the process.

"It's just an insane feeling," Buswell said. "We really are making history."

Read the rest here:

One for the history books: Winona girls capture school's first soccer section title with win over Byron - Rochester Post Bulletin