Minot North’s Anistyn Perrin dribbles the ball up the field as Bismarck High’s Kari Penn (10) and Reagan Neumiller (5) defend during the second half of a WDA match at Sentinel Stadium on Saturday, April 11. Mike Kraft/MDN

It still beats playing in sub-zero temperatures – a common occurrence in North Dakota during the month of April – but the Minot North girls soccer team is growing tired of competing against gusty winds that have plagued its matches early in the season.

For the second time this week, the Sentinels were forced to play two strategically different halves due to high winds that made it all but impossible to generate any kind of offense when going against the wind.

With the wind at their backs to start the game, the Sentinels knew they had to take advantage of the 40 minutes they had to work with and they did just that. Kohlee Roberts scored in the first minute and Minot North netted three in the opening half before holding on late for a 3-2 victory over Bismarck High on Saturday, April 11, at Sentinel Stadium.

“Going into the game knowing we had the wind in the first half, we really wanted to get in a goal right away, so I was really determined to do that so that we could hopefully manage the rest of the game and keep that lead,” Roberts said. “That played a big role in how the whole game played out.”

In Tuesday’s match against Minot High, the Sentinels (4-1-0 overall, 4-1-0 WDA) also started with the wind at their back, but were unable to produce a goal in the first 40 minutes, ultimately leading to their first defeat of the season. Minot North needed just 37 seconds to score against the Demons.

Kelcie Poe stole the ball away from a Bismarck defender deep in Minot North’s attacking zone and sent a cross to Roberts in front of the net. Roberts tucked it inside the post to her right, past Bismarck goalkeeper Gabby Bruer.

Roberts has scored in three of five matches this season, including a four-goal outburst against Williston. She leads the team with six goals in her first year at the midfield position after playing forward in past years.

“Every goal scorer needs to be in that position where they can put themselves in that opportunity to score those goals and she’s probably one of the best in the WDA at doing that,” Minot North coach Haris Bisnjak said. “She played a little bit deeper for us today, so that made it a little more difficult to find those moments, but she is a smart enough player to utilize the space that we do allow her to find and she’ll get plenty more goals this season because of that.”

Anistyn Perrin factored into Minot North’s final two goals of the half. She delivered a perfectly-placed strike from 25 yards out into the top-right corner of the net to give the Sentinels a 2-0 lead at the 30-minute mark. Morghen Unhjem tallied the assist for her first point of the season.

Perrin recorded her team-leading seventh assist seven minutes later off one of 11 set pieces in the first half for Minot North. Perrin served the ball into the box, right to the head of Julia Lewis, who guided a header on net that ricochet off the far post and crossed the goal line before a Bismarck defender was able to clear the ball away.

“Anistyn always finds me on the corners,” Lewis said. “She’s really talented in that aspect. She just curves it in with the wind. When I’m running to corners, my mindset is that I’m always going to get a head on it or a touch on it and I did. I trust her a lot. We’ve been playing since we were eight years old, so we have really good chemistry.”

With the wind at their backs, the Sentinels netted three goals, recorded 15 shots – 11 on net. The Demons (1-4-1, 1-3-1) recorded just one shot going against the wind.

As expected, Minot North’s offense became secondary in the final 40 minutes as the wind limited them to six shots – four on goal – and five corner or free kicks.

The Demons entered Saturday’s match having scored just two goals in their first four matches, but matched that output in a span of 31 minutes to trim Minot North’s lead down to 3-2. Reagan Neumiller scored off a set piece off a free kick from Kambree Neumiller in the 42nd minute and Sydney Henriksen took advantage of a breakaway opportunity in the 71st minute to create a bit of late-game drama.

“Coming in, we had two goals: a clean sheet in the second half and to get a couple goals,” Bismarck High coach Michelle Brown said. “We met both of those goals and I’m super proud of the girls to compete. When you go down 3-0 at half, you have a choice of hanging your head and believing the game’s over or compete and try and come back.”

The Sentinels withstood three set pieces in the final three minutes by the Demons. Minot North goalkeeper Camryn Guy came up with the save on Kambree Neumiller’s free kick and the Demons were unable to get a shot on net on either of the two corners to preserve the win and three points for Minot North. Guy finished with four saves.

The Demons recorded seven shots in the second half and six set-play opportunities.

“The three points is massive and we take the result always at the end of the day,” Bosnjak said. “Most of the performance in the second half we’ll reflect, we’ll watch film, we’ll look at ourselves and try and correct things there, but the one thing I will give them credit for is last year we probably would have tied or lost the game where this year we ended up winning. I do have to give them props for that. They really held out there and played strong until the very end today.”

The Sentinels sit in second place in the WDA standings with 12 points and have already created some distance between them and the fifth-place position they would need to finish in front of to earn a trip to state. Bismarck High currently occupies that fifth spot, eight points back of the Sentinels.

It’s still early in the season, but Minot North is off to a strong start compared to last year, where the Sentinels didn’t register their fourth victory until May 15, which was 13 matches into the season. They needed just five matches to earn that fourth win this year.

Roberts credits the growth of the defense to the quick start, as Minot North is conceding less than two goals per game this season compared to 3.2 goals per game through its first five matches last season.

“Our center backs have made huge improvements and have really learned how to judge the ball and manage the game as far as when we’re down or when we’re up,” Roberts said. “They know what they need to do.”

Minot North travels to play Bismarck Century on Tuesday, April 14, at 8 p.m. at Sanford Sports Complex.