CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's soccer team found itself back in the win column on Saturday, defeating the North Park Vikings by a score of 2-1 to begin CCIW play.

It was a busy opening half on both sides of the field as the two teams combined for 17 shots, six of which were on goal. The game nearly made it a full half without a score, but Liesl Whitener broke a 0-0 deadlock in the 42nd minute on a pass from Paige Bingen to give Augie a 1-0 lead at the break. 

Nearly seven minutes into the second, Whitener found the back of the net for the second time in the game, taking a rebound off her own penalty kick and sending it in for her 12th goal of the year. Augie continued its attack over the course of the next 10 minutes, out-shooting North Park 3-0 over that span, two of which were on target. After fending off Augustana on its side of the field, North Park inched closer with a tally in the 78th minute to cut the margin in half. Augie allowed just two shots through the final 12 minutes and held on for the one-goal victory.

The second half saw another high number of shots as the two teams combined for 15. Each finished with 16 in the game, with Augustana seeing 11 of those on target. Whitener led the way with six looks at the net, while Alyssa Mowry added three on the mark. Sara Schinker earned the win in net after saving five shots.

With the victory, the Vikings improve to 7-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the CCIW. The team will return home for a non-conference game against Wartburg on Wednesday.