Sophomore midfielder Megan Pines and sophomore forward Laura Heyboer scored less than one and a half minutes apart, as the Spartans came from behind to beat the Golden Gophers, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.

“It’s been a really tough couple weeks for our program,” MSU head coach Tom Saxton said. “We’ve had a lot of injuries and are going through some things, playing a lot of new people, and I’m just so happy with the character that we showed coming from behind.”

The Spartans (9-3-4 overall, 2-3-2 Big Ten) showed that character before the first ball was kicked, getting a spark from one of their top offensive players. Heyboer missed the team’s prior two games after suffering a sprained right ankle during warm-ups Oct. 18 against Northwestern, but was deemed ready to go and was added to the starting lineup minutes before the game.

After a scoreless first half during which both MSU sophomore goalkeeper Jill Flietstra and Minnesota keeper Cat Parkhill made impressive saves, the Golden Gophers (10-5-3, 3-3-2) took the lead on a play that was just plain unlucky for the Spartans.

At the 58:54 minute mark, Strahota was on the right side of goal looking for somebody to pass to in front of the net. Strahota began to pass behind her, but Cook slid in to try to clear the ball and Strahota’s kick deflected off Cook and got past Flietstra for the game’s first goal.

“There was nothing else to do,” Cook said. “The defensive mindset (is) go for it. It bounced off (and it was a) bad play. I had two options after — keep my head down or push through. I knew I had to look at each one of my teammates in the face, and it was my mistake and I take full blame for it, but (I pushed) on.”

So did Cook’s teammates, who, behind Heyboer, came back with two goals in 1:26.

The first came in the 72nd minute, when Heyboer took a long pass in the center of the field and attacked the net with three players behind her. Parkhill blocked the shot, but the ball bounced away toward the right side of the net, just inside the goal post. Pines came in from the right side and slid into the ball, knocking it a couple more inches for the goal.

Heyboer put MSU ahead soon thereafter, taking a long pass from Pines and kicking it past Parkhill inside the right post.

But Heyboer lay on the ground after the goal and had to be carted off. It was announced after the game she had suffered a broken tibia-fibula and was expected to have surgery later Sunday.

Between bouncing back from the tough goal and holding Minnesota in check after Heyboer’s injury, Saxton said he was proud of the way his team fought back.

“They had the best of the first half without a doubt, but we came out and really settled down and played really well through that stretch and (Strahota’s) goal, it just happens,” Saxton said. “They’re dangerous. Those things happen, but it’s the way we responded, that’s the best thing.”