SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Morningside College scored a goal within the first five minutes of the second half to break open a tied match and that lead would hold up as the Mustangs defeated Nebraska Wesleyan University, 2-1, in the GPAC Women's Soccer Postseason Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday night (Nov. 5) in Sioux City, Iowa.
The loss brings the 2015 season to a close for the Prairie Wolves as they end the year with a 9-9 overall record. Morningside, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, advances to the GPAC semifinals where they will face Northwestern College.
NWU, playing in their first postseason tournament since 1999, jumped ahead early in the match as things looked promising for the Prairie Wolves.
Shannon Jerram to NWU on the board in the 18th minute as she scored her second goal of the season on an assist from
Hallie Schimenti. That put the Prairie Wolves in front and looking good heading into halftime.
Right before half, Morningside was able to tie the match. A penalty kick for leading scorer Amy Samuelson with less than three minutes remaining before intermission tied the match at 1-1. For Samuelson, it was her 17th goal of the season.
Coming out of halftime, both teams were playing to extend their season. Morningside wasted little time as Chloe Wetzbarger scored on an assist from Samuelson to give the Mustangs the 2-1 lead just over four minutes into the second half.
That 2-1 lead for the Mustangs would hold up as NWU wasn't able to find the open net and tie the match. The Prairie Wolves finished with six total shots on the night, compared to 14 for the Mustangs.
"It's a heartbreaker because we genuinely did enough to win the game," Coach Flintham said. "Territorially and in terms of threatening play we did what we needed to, but there are a few moments in the game where you flip a coin and it simply didn't fall our way.
Natalie Graves has one cleared off the line which looks over and we have a few chances to make it 2-0 which we don't put away. So on another day it's a very different result. We should be proud about our performance levels and aggrieved at the scoreline."
Nebraska Wesleyan finishes the season at 9-9 overall. NWU will miss four key senior players, but the future looks very bright for Prairie Wolves women soccer.
It's a season with mixed feelings for us. Some wonderful performances, including six shutout wins in the conference, with a young team gaining incredible experience," Flintham said. "We also had some unfortunate lows like the season ending injuries to several key players, which certainly impacted us. But overall we know that this is a great start... The foundation for something special. I know there is a great deal of excitement and expectation about 2016, which we embrace."
"However, we do need to take a moment to acknowledge the contribution of our four seniors. I don't know quite where to begin... But I'll end by saying that we'll never forget them or their contribution. Their fingerprints will be all over our future success."
