There were two storms at Art Hass Stadium Tuesday night. The storm that brought heavy rains and strong winds and the storm from the Packer girls soccer team, who poured on shot after shot as they knocked off Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 3-0 in a Section 1A Tournament opener.

The Packers (2-13-1 overall) had only scored 10 goals in 16 regular season games and they had been shutout in their last three contests, but they came out aggressive and fired off 20 shots on goal against the Cougars (3-10-1 overall).

Chloe Sheehan jump-started Austin when she scored off a loose ball on a corner kick with 8:46 left in the first half and Morgan Raymond made it 2-0 Austin when she found the net on a lob shot two minutes before halftime.

Sheehan said the boost in offense came from hard work in practice.

“Yesterday at practice we worked on switching fields when the defense was up. That’s what we did tonight,” Sheehan said. “We were communicating and we were switching fields.”

The Packers put the game away when Hannah Quandt scored in the second half and Eliana Bentley also had a few chances at breakaways down the stretch.

While the weather was far from ideal, the Packers couldn’t afford to be cold when their season was on the line. Senior Erin Bickler said the team simply had to be aware of the conditions.

“The biggest thing was the ball slowed down. It’s really wet out there. Other than that I think we adapted well too it. We used the wind to our advantage,” Bickler said. “We’ve been really excited (to play at home). The season really hasn’t gone as planned, but we’ve been improving every game and this home game really helped give us the momentum that we needed coming into sections. We were positive the whole time and everyone was taking shots when we had the opportunity.”

Cassity Nangle finished with five saves in the win for Austin.

Austin head coach Jake Levisen said the Packers came into the game in good spirits and he’s hoping the Packers can carry that momentum into the next game at No. 5 Stewartville, which beat the Packers 3-2 in the regular season on Sept. 15. If Austin could get by the Tigers, it would play at Dover-Eyota at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“I think all season we’ve been working on our weaknesses and now the girls are getting it and they’re clicking well. We’re coming in like a storm. As long as we keep this momentum and drive up, other teams will be on their heels,” Levisen said. “It all comes down to our mindset before the game. We had a really good practice on Monday following a good game on Saturday. The girls are starting to believe what is being applied in practice. I think they showed it tonight with their passing, their movement, their communication and their teamwork.”