Jamie Essink scored the game-winning goal with 3 seconds left in the match to give Nebraska Wesleyan a 2-1 victory over Central College in the season opener for the Prairie Wolves. Central had tied the match under a minute remaining but NWU rallied for the win.

The win was the first for the NWU women under new head coach Mike Lynch, who was not at the season opener because he was coaching the men's team in Lincoln. The Prairie Wolves assistants Brooke Bredenburg and Jeannie Fitzgerald guided the young team to the victory.

NWU got on the board in the first half when Allison Frohn scored the first goal of the season when she found the open net during the 27th minute of the first half.

The score remained a 1-0 advantage for NWU the rest of the match until the final minute when Central College's Kristi Klatt scored with 44 seconds left in the match.

Unlike last season, the Prairie Wolves decided to end the match in regulation as Essink scored with only three seconds to play. In 2008, six of the NWU women's matches went into double overtime.

Nebraska Wesleyan will remain on the road this weekend when they take part in the Luther College Labor Day Classic. The Prairie Wolves play Lakeland College on Saturday then battle the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Sunday afternoon.