Wayne State used an early second-half goal from senior Paige Pemberton along with sophomore Alexa Hofstetter's third shutout of the season in goal as the Wildcats opened Northern Sun Conference women's soccer play Friday afternoon with a 1-0 victory at Minnesota Crookston.  WSC is now 2-0-2 and 1-0-0 in the league while UMC falls to 1-2-1 and 0-1 in NSIC action.
            The two teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first half as Wayne State held a 7-2 advantage in shots and 4-2 in corner kicks.
            WSC got on the scoreboard early in the second half as senior forward Paige Pemberton took a cross from Morgan Mancuso and blasted a shot past the UMC goalkeeper at the 51:51 mark giving the 'Cats a 1-0 lead.
            The Wildcats were able to shut down the Golden Eagles as Hofstetter accounted for a pair of saves in the second half with WSC recording their third shutout of the season.
            Wayne State ended the second half with a 7-4 edge in shots and 4-0 on corner kicks.
            For the contest, WSC outshot UMC 14-6 including 8-3 in shots on goal.  Freshman defender Molly Riggins had two shots on goal for the 'Cats while Pemberton recorded her second goal of the season in the win.  Hofstetter was credited with three saves in goal while posting her third shutout of the season.
            Wayne State concludes their NSIC weekend road trip Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. contest at MSU Moorhead.