The Lakeland College women's soccer team broke its three game losing streak and offensive drought with a 4-2 victory over Ripon College in non-conference play on Wednesday, Sept. 26, in Ripon, Wis.

After both teams went into halftime deadlocked at two goals apiece, the Muskies' (2-8 overall) offense took control of the game in the second half, battering Ripon's defensive line with 11 shot attempts, resulting in two more goals to take the game.

Sophomore forward Gina Weiss had a break-out game, sparking the Muskies' offensive onslaught from the get-go with a goal off an assist from junior defender Jacqui Drexler in the fifth minute. Weiss also went on to score the game-winning goal at the 55:17 mark to boost the squad's numbers and confidence.

"She brought us hunger and intensity right from the start," said head coach Dave Madsen of Weiss. "We came out a little sluggish overall, but she gave us that extra push and I was happy to see she played very strong today."

Although Ripon responded with two consecutive goals by Jessica Martzahl following Weiss' first goal, Lakeland refused to cave in, as freshman forward Alicia Malmstadt came off the bench to net an unassisted goal in the 33rd minute to tie the score. Freshman forward Maria Santelli also came off the bench to seal the deal with the Muskies' fourth and final goal in the 65th minute.

"Our bench brought the intensity today that gave us the win," Madsen said. "I thought I would give our bench a chance to prove themselves, and I was happy to see that we were relentless. We knew if we kept pushing them back, we would get the result."

Although Lakeland has had some trouble getting its offense going so far this season, netting a total of five goals prior to the game with Ripon, there was no sign of those problems today, as the Muskies racked up 18 shot attempts for the game to Ripon's nine.

The Muskies will now bear down for long haul, as they have no more regular season non-conference games on their schedule, starting with Northern Athletics Conference opponent Rockford College on Sunday, Sept. 30.

"I still want to see us play with the type of intensity we brought today for a full game," Madsen said. "Today was a big confidence boost for us, and I hope we can continue that into our conference schedule with a good mindset on Sunday."

Game time with Rockford is set for 4 p.m.