Box Score Bismarck, ND – After waiting 17 years, the University of Mary played its first home conference game in the history of the program tonight. The newest member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference made sure that the outcome would be memorable, defeating Western Washington University 2-1 on a goal by Aaron Mc Elwee with 6:09 remaining in the game.
 
The Marauders (3-3-1 overall, 2-1-0 GNAC) first played soccer in 1995 but were never a member of a conference. This season U-Mary is aligned with the GNAC.
 
A close contest all night, the Marauders claimed an early lead. U-Mary opened the scoring on a header from Sellars. The freshman midfielder scored his second counter of the year off a throw-in from Ryan Buchholtz just 11:15 into the match.
 
The U-Mary goal came shortly after Mc Elwee just missed on a hard shot that looked to be going into the upper reaches of the net. Instead Vikings (3-3-1, 1-1-1) goalkeeper Keegan Rogers just got a finger on the ball to deflect the shot off the crossbar.
 
Both teams had several opportunities to punch in goals but neither side could find the net. A miscue by the Marauders late in the game allowed the Vikings to even the contest.
 
With 7:12 left in the game, Mc Elwee was called for a foul in the penalty box when he obstructed a Vikings player. Sujinda Dangvan stepped in and drilled the penalty kick into the left corner to even the score. It was his third goal of the season.
 
Just 63 seconds later the Marauders evened the score after an error by the Vikings. Western Washington's Rogers was assessed a yellow card for throwing the ball, giving the Marauders an indirect free kick in the penalty box. Buchholz tapped the ball to McElwee, who then drilled the ball through a wall of defenders for the game-winning goal. It was his first tally of the season.
 
U-Mary's Michael Frenzel had an impressive night in net for the Marauders, making six saves on a busy night.
 
The Vikings held a 21-12 edge on the Marauders in shots attempted but the two sides were even with seven shots on frame apiece. U-Mary committed 16 fouls to 10 for WWU but held a 6-3 advantage in corners.
 
The Marauders finish homecoming week by hosting Simon Fraser on Saturday, September 22. Game time is 7 PM at the Community Bowl.
 
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