Alex Eisen/MDN Minot State midfielder Kelsey Pena (right) gets tackled by Minnesota State forward Brynn Desens (left) Sunday afternoon at Herb Parker Stadium.

Windy conditions couldn’t stop goals from flying into the back of the net Sunday afternoon at Herb Parker Stadium.

Five different Minnesota State players scored in a 5-2 road victory over the Minot State women’s soccer team.

The No. 4-ranked Mavericks (7-2, 4-2 NSIC) were coming off a 2-1 loss to U-Mary on Friday but found its scoring touch again on Sunday against the Beavers (1-8, 1-5 NSIC).

MSU tried to keep pace, but a slow start had the Beavers fighting an uphill battle throughout the match against one of the best teams in the country.

“This is tough when you are used to winning a lot of games,” MSU first-year head coach Chris Clements said. “When you struggle to score and struggle to win games, you need to believe in the little things. Today was a good performance because we believed in the way we need to play.”

The Mavericks scored first in the fourth minute on a penalty kick converted by Brynn Desens. Mankato was awarded the spot-kick after sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Long was forced out of her net and tripped up an attacker while diving for the ball.

Long, making her first start this season, was left helpless again in the 13th minute. Bri Ciaccio buried a ball that wasn’t adequately cleared by the Beavers’ defense.

MSU fought back with its third goal of the season a little over three minutes later. Flashy footwork by Kelsey Pena got the shifty midfielder past a couple of Maverick defenders and into the 18-yard box. Instead of taking the shot, Pena laid the ball off to Daniela Fonseca for a curled finish into the top right corner.

“We are finally getting numbers in the box,” Clements said. “People are believing in transitioning. On both goals, we said we had to run at them. Break them down and find gaps. And we did that, so that was good to see.”

A pair of long-range finishes by Nadia Lowery and Jenny Vetter increased the Mavericks’ lead to 4-1 going into halftime.

That gave both teams a chance to recover following a physical affair. The match had to be stopped multiple times to address fouls and injury concerns.

“We got banged up Friday, got banged up today,” Clements said. “We got different starters out there, and they needed to step up. They played well.”

Pena was one of the players that had to receive treatment. But, that didn’t stop her from scoring her first goal of the season in the 60th minute.

“Scoring goals will help our confidence go up,” said Melanie van Walstijn, who provided the assist on Pena’s goal.

The Beavers pressed hard to get within a goal and even had another Pena goal disallowed for offsides, but it was Minnesota State that found the next and final goal in the 76th minute.

Vetter threaded through Molly Riley to cap the scoring.

“They are fast,” van Walstijn said. “They know how to play. They have played together for a long time, while we are a whole new team. So, yeah, they’re good. But I think we fought pretty well.”

The Mavericks outshot the Beavers 22-15 (13-8 shots on target). MSU has now been outscored 28-4 in nine games this season.

Minot native Sofia Lewis, who led the Beavers in points the previous two seasons, hasn’t had her breakthrough moment yet. She has a team-high 24 shots (12 on target), but no goals or assists.

Opposing teams have locked Lewis down by taking away her time and space. The MSU offense has had to find other scorers and getting two against the No. 4-ranked team is an improvement.

The Mavericks had only allowed five goals all season coming into the contest.

“This season is about building a system of how we want to play,” Clements said. “Win or lose, we need to play that same way. I think today we actually came out, and we were willing to put everything on the line and play. And, obviously, we doubled our goals today and had some phenomenal opportunities.”

The Beavers have nine games left in the regular season to right the ship and make a push to reach the NSIC Tournament.

MSU travels to face Bemidji State on Friday (Oct. 11) and Minnesota Crookston on Sunday (Oct. 13) this upcoming weekend.

Alex Eisen covers Minot State athletics, the Minot Minotauros and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.