The Minnesota soccer team (6-0-0) is off to the best start in school history thanks to senior forward Lindsey Schwartz ’s two goals that led the team to two wins in the Regina Moench Memorial Tournament.

The Gophers defeated Creighton (4-2-0) 3-0 Sunday and Ohio (1-3-0) 2-0 Friday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.

Schwartz, the tournament’s offensive MVP , scored the winning goal against Ohio on a header in the box. The play was set up by a perfect centering pass from well outside the box by sophomore forward Molly Rouse , allowing Schwartz to float a header over Ohio’s goalkeeper.

“I was actually trying to flick it over to someone else but it ended up going into the goal,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz’s second goal of the weekend, and third of the season , came against Creighton and gave the Gophers a 2-0 lead. This time she scored on a header in the box off a penalty kick by senior midfielder Kelsey Hood.

The entire offense was busy throughout the weekend. Minnesota created numerous scoring chances in both games.

“We didn’t have that last year so it’s great to see,” Hood said. “It’s a huge step for us.”

Hood was also a large contributor to the team’s offensive production. She tallied an assist off a free kick in each game .

Minnesota’s defense continued its season-long dominance and limited both Ohio and Creighton by keeping the ball in the offensive zone. Throughout the weekend, the defense surrendered only seven shots .

“I thought that this was their best performance,” head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. “They had to deal with some pressure and had to organize some things.”

Sophomore defender Jennie Clark anchored the defense on her way to becoming the tournament’s defensive MVP.

The defense made it easy for senior goalkeeper Lindsey Dare to record her fourth and fifth shutouts of the season.

Creighton, who came into the tournament undefeated, gave Dare her only test of the weekend on a breakaway shot. Aside from that, Dare only had to make one other save. Her goals against average decreased to a miniscule 0.17 for the season.

In both games, Ohio and Creighton were able to pressure Minnesota’s players. But in both games, the Gophers were able to outlast the pressure and win comfortably.

“You can run with us for a little while but it’s hard to run with us for 90 minutes,” Denney Wright said.

Aside from Schwartz and Hood, Minnesota had a goal from sophomore forward Katie Bethke against Ohio and goals from freshman forward Tamara Strahota and Clark against Creighton.

Rouse was able to extend her assist-per-game streak to five games when she set up Schwartz’s goal, but it came to an end Sunday.

Despite the dominant performance for the Gophers, Denney Wright believes there is still room for improvement.

“I’m happy we’re creating the chances and that our kids are continuing to focus on finishing,” Denney Wright said. “We still need to work on finishing chances.”