ST. GEORGE, UTAH – After accruing a three goal lead with 20 minutes left in the match, the Dixie State women's soccer had to hold off a strong Hawaii Pacific surge to beat the Sea Warriors 3-2 on Monday night at Hansen Stadium.

Winners of six matches in-a-row, Dixie State (7-3, 6-0 Pac West) outscored their last three opponents at home 12 goals to three. Hawaii Pacific (6-4-1, 4-3) has flip-flopped wins and losses in their last four games.

Dixie State midfielder Mikala Wilkes (Cedar Hills. UT/Lone Peak HS '06) scored in the 40th minute off a Kalehua Harward (Saint George, UT/Dixie) left-side crossing pass to give the Storm a 1-0 lead.

After the halftime break, two DSC tallies over a three-minute spread pushed the advantage to 3-0. A Camille Peterson corner kick floated toward the net and was headed in by Kelsey Tesoro (Torrance, CA/Shadow Ridge) at 66:39. Peterson went top shelf off an unassisted breakaway at the 69:18 mark.

The Sea Warriors did not back down and cut the lead to a single goal with under ten minutes left. Freshman forward Amber Fuller had both goals – a 75th minute strike from 30 yards out and an 83rd minute gem off a free kick.

Dixie State goalkeeper Abby Monroe made one save and tracked down multiple crossing attempts from the Sea Warriors all match.

Wilkes (4) and Tesoro (3) paced the club in shots. The midfield core for DSC had a solid match highlighted by great defense and offensive initiation from Harward.

The women of Dixie State will head to the Hawaiian Islands for a tough four-game stretch beginning this Saturday against the Chaminade Silverswords. The trip will include the one and only regular-season match against conference-powerhouse BYU-Hawaii on October 20. DSC next plays at home on Friday, October 30 at 4:30pm against Grand Canyon University.