You win some you lose some. That mantra the women’s soccer team learned all too well this weekend, splitting games against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

The Pioneers traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on the Sun Belt Conference third-ranked Blue Raiders on Oct. 26. The team fought hard but the Blue Raiders scored first, beating goalkeeper Mackenzie Snyder 32 minutes into the game and ending the Pioneers three-game shutout streak.

According to Pioneers’ assistant coach Michael Thomas, the lone goal was not Snyder’s fault as she denied two breakaway attempts early in the game. Despite the goal, Snyder continued to play well and the Pioneers kept the Blue Raiders to just 4 shots.

Unable to tally a point against the Blue Raiders, the Pioneers fell lost 1-0.

“It was disappointing to come on the road, play well, and not get a victory out of it,” said Thomas. “Middle Tennessee has a very good team, they’re always competing for the conference title at the end.”

The game wasn’t a total loss though. “We won the statistical battle,” said Thomas. The Pioneers won both shots and corner kicks, said Thomas.

After a day off, the Pioneers took the field once more, this time to face the undefeated, Sun Belt Conference leading Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. According to Thomas, the Hilltoppers will most likely win the conference during the regular season.

As the game got underway, again the Pioneers fell behind early on a goal by Hilltopper Amanda Buechel.

“They scored a goal early where Mackenzie made the first save and they scored on the rebound,” said Thomas.

This time the Pioneers struck back, with Jr. defender Jessica Keller lifting the ball over the charging Hilltopper goalkeeper. The Pioneers held the tie, bringing the two battling teams into overtime.

So. Forward Mariah Johnston played the hero in overtime, breaking through the Hilltoppers defense and scoring the game-winning goal, bringing the Pioneers a well-earned 2-1 victory.

“Johnston scored a great finish to the far post with a couple players hanging over her,” said Thomas. The victory over Western Kentucky shows that the Pioneers can beat any team in the conference, said Thomas.

Ultimately, the weekend proved beneficial to the Pioneers Women’s Soccer team. “There were a lot of positives,” said Thomas. “The focus is how we carry those positives into the conference tournament.”

The Pioneers have the rest of the week off before traveling to Denton, Texas, to challenge second-seed rivals, the North Texas Mean Green on Nov. 2.

“North Texas is our traditional rival in the conference,” said Thomas.

DU has won the conference title the last four of six years; North Texas has won the other two, added Thomas.

The goal for this weekend is to carry the momentum through Texas and into the playoffs, said Thomas.

North Texas won’t go down without a fight and will be dangerous having come off a loss to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, said Thomas.

The Pioneers are 9-4-4 on the year, with a record of 6-2-2 in the conference.