MANKATO, MN – Standing toe to toe with the top seeded team on their own pitch, hopes for a second straight appearance at the Northern Sun women's soccer tournament championship game for the University of Mary were dashed in a shootout. After playing #7 Minnesota State University to a scoreless draw following 90 minutes of regulation play plus two 10-minute overtime periods, UMary was eliminated from the NSIC tournament after the Mavericks converted five penalty kicks to three for the Marauders.
 
The match was a true nailbiter for all 110 minutes of play between two teams that both generated a handful of scoring opportunities. Both Marauders goalkeeper Molly Fischer and her Mavericks counterpart Clare Longueville played flawlessly in goal. The intensity then ramped up further for the shootout.
 
The Marauders (11-4-4) matched the Mavericks (13-1-6) for the first two rounds in the shootout with Allison Lepp and Ava Vizenor burying their shots. The contest turned in the third round. Maddix Archer converted for Minnesota State before UMary's Sophia Lange was stopped on a diving save by Longueville for a 3-2 Mavericks advantage. Another make for MSU meant MaLiah Burke needed to convert to keep the Marauders alive and the all-conference forward delivered. Ashlyn Watt delivered the final blow to the Marauders hopes to start round five, making her penalty kick to eliminated UMary from the tournament.
 
While the Mavericks held a 17-8 edge in total shots, the 5^th seeded Marauders matched the home team in shots on frame with five. Fischer, who earned second team all-conference honors in her final season, equaled her NSIC 1^st team counterpart in saves with five.
 
Fischer recorded her 10^th clean sheet of the season and 20^th of her career. This is the 2^nd straight season the senior has compiled 10 shutouts, which is the second-highest single season total in program history. Kristen Werner owns the school record with 11 shutouts in 2004. Rachel Dietrich also had 10 in 1997.
 
Now the Marauders wait to see if they will get an NCAA tournament bid. The Marauders have three wins against teams ranked in the NCAA Central Region, more than any other NSIC school outside of Minnesota State. Three spots in the 8-team tournament are awarded to the tournament champions of the NSIC, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC), leaving five slots for at large berths. The NCAA tournament brackets will be released Monday, November 18, at 6 pm on NCAA.com.
 
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