BISMARCK, N.D. - The University of Mary Marauders overcame a big mental mistake and fought the Northwest Nazarene University Crusaders to a draw in a scrappy match between the teams.
 
Facing the wind as well as the opposing team, the Marauders struggled early as the Crusaders dominated the possession and fired off 11 shots in the first half compared to U-Mary's two shots, neither of which were on goal. A critical miscommunication between the Marauder defense and the goalkeeper Jack West, coupled with 20 mph winds moving the ball around as if it were a piece of paper, resulted in a own goal scored on U-Mary in the 30th minute, unintentionally giving Northwest Nazarene a 1-0 lead.
 
The first half stayed in relative silence even though the Crusaders recorded six corner kicks, compared to no corner kicks from U-Mary, and the Marauders went into half down 1-0.
 
After swapping sides and gaining some help from the wind, U-Mary adjusted their strategy and the results clearly showed. Northwest Nazarene struggled to fire off any shots and the frustration was obvious on the faces of the Crusaders. The second half belonged to U-Mary as they out shot Northwest Nazarene 8-4 and netted the tying goal in the 59th minute. Adam Potter had a free kick opportunity near midfield on the Crusader half. The following kick covered about 30 yards and was initially poked away by the Crusader defense. Alex Boyes corralled the rebound and his quick strike sailed past the goalkeeper and tied the game 1-1.
 
The rest of the half was a defensive clinic, hosted by the Marauders, as Northwest Nazarene fired off four shots and attempted five corner kicks, but every attempt was squashed by the defenders with West earning one save and the defense blocking two of the shots. The score remained the same at the end of the second half.
 
Frustration continued to plague the Crusaders as they received two yellow cards early in the first overtime. Neither team capitalized on their opportunities as the lone Marauder shot flew wide right and West stopped the only shot from the Crusaders.
 
The second overtime was more worrisome as U-Mary's only shot sailed wide right again and the Crusaders almost ended the game with a shot hitting the post in the 110th minute. The game ended in a draw.
 
West finished the game with three saves and the Marauders defense kept the Crusader offense in check with several opportunities spoiled by a U-Mary defender in a key position.
 
Boyes took one shot but that was all he needed to record his first goal of the year. Christoffer Nogueira and Jordan Pearce both fired off four shots but nothing was on target.
 
The Marauders (2-6-2, 1-6-1 GNAC) finish their four game home stand on Saturday, Oct. 18, when they host South Dakota School of Mines.