Overtime, penalty kicks highlight UMAC women's soccer semifinal games
ST. PAUL, Minn.---After a thrilling quarterfinal game that went to overtime, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's soccer tournament was even more exciting on semifinal Wednesday as it took overtime for No. 1 Northland College to advance and No. 3 University of Minnesota Morris to win on penalty kicks.
No. 1 Northland will host No. 3 Minnesota Morris Saturday at 1 p.m. for the UMAc title game. The LumberJills defeated No. 5 Bethany Lutheran College 2-1 in overtime, while No. 3 Minnesota Morris won on extra kicks 3-2 over No. 2 College of St. Scholastica following 110 minutes of scoreless soccerr.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 Recap |
Semifinal 2 Recap |
Women’s Soccer– No. 1 Northland vs. No. 5 Bethany Lutheran, 1 p.m., Ashland, Wis.
No. 1 Northland beat No. 5 Bethany Lutheran in overtime less than two weeks ago to clinch its first UMAC title in program history. Much like the first game, the LumberJills controlled a majority of play but couldn't come up with the win until extra time.
The LumberJills possessed the ball for most of the first half and outshot the Vikings 10-6, but couldn't find a way to get on the board. Finally, in the 64th minute, Alexandria Fischer scored on a cross from Olivia Garceau to put her squad up 1-0.
However, Bethany's overtime hero Rachel Bitter had other plans as she forced the game to continue on past regulation scoring with four seconds remaining. The LumberJills were able to come up with an answer in the 98th minute, though, as Heather Jensen scored on an assist from Kaiya Voldberg. Averi Cash made eight saves for the Vikings, while Emily Romuald had seven for the victorious LumberJills.
Women’s Soccer– No. 2 St. Scholastica vs. No. 3 Minnesota Morris, 1:30 p.m., Duluth, Minn.
Much like the first semifinal, the two foes in the second game needed overtime to decide their regular season meeting. This time, overtime wasn't going to be enought between the No. 2 Saints and No. 3 Cougars.
Throughout the game, the Saints controlled play but struggled to get quality chances to score. They outshot the Cougars 37-2 and held a 22-2 advantage in corner kicks. But the score remained 0-0 through regulation and overtime periods, thanks largely to the strong play of Torri Jordan who made 24 saves.
In the shootout, Kirsten Olsen scored for the Saints with Lindsay Clay following it up with a score for the Cougars. The next St. Scholastica shooter missed the net, but keeper Roni Rudolph spoiled the Cougars on the next shot making a save. There was another Saint miss prior to Molly Hancuh scoring to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Payton Baco narrowly scored off a tip of Jordan's hands to make it 2-2, but the Cougars were still in a place to win kicking second. The Cougars missed on their fourth shot giving the Saints a chance to tie it up, but another miss put the game in the hands of Yu Ito who buried her shot to send the Cougars on to the championship.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
UMAC Women’s Soccer Tournament page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Oct. 31
No. 5 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 4 Northwestern, 2-1 OT |
Box Score |
UNW Recap |
BLC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 2
No. 1 Northland def. No. 5 Bethany Lutheran, 2-1 2OT |
Box Score |
BLC Recap |
NC Recap |
No. 3 Minnesota Morris def. No. 2 St. Scholastica, 0-0, advance 3-2 in shootout |
Box Score |
CSS Recap |
UMM Recap |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 5
No. 3 Minnesota Morris AT No. 1 Northland, Ashland, Wis., 1 p.m. |
Live Video |