ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's soccer team fell victim to goals just before the halftime whistle and minutes after the second half began in a 2-1 loss at the University of Northwestern on Saturday evening.
With the heat playing a role on Saturday, each half was essentially divided in half. The opening 23 minutes were played to a standstill, with each team attempting four shots and
Danielle Reinhard pushing a long-distance Haley Mersberger effort off the crossbar.
Jay Kwateh and
Jadyn Sondrol had shots on goal in the early minutes for the Cougars.
Northwestern looked to be the fresher side as play resumed after the hydration break. The Eagles piled on the chances as the half worked its way to a close. Though the Minnesota Morris defense was up to the task much of the way, UNW finally got the breakthrough goal with less than a minute remaining until the break on a header from Mersberger to make it 1-0.
Coming out for the second half, Northwestern doubled its lead on its first foray into the Minnesota Morris final third. Mersberger's second of the day would end up being the difference in the match.
As the half ticked on, Northwestern kept up the attacking pressure but the Cougar defense and Reinhard were up to the challenge. In the 66th minute, Minnesota Morris had the moment it had been waiting for as
Caroline O'Donnell intercepted a pass in midfielder, worked the ball to the wing to
AJ LaFrinier, and LaFrinier found
Malia Totoris on a breakaway opportunity. Left one-on-one with the keeper, Totoris used some fancy footwork to work free and deposit the ball into the empty net to make it 2-1.
While that goal gave Minnesota Morris life, the Cougars only managed two more shots in the match. One was a deflection off of
Bella Toth and the other came from long-distance from
Kim Peters in the final minute, but both were saved by Samantha Hansen to keep Northwestern in front.
Toth and Totoris each ended with two shots in the match. Reinhard was credited with 13 saves.
Minnesota Morris returns to Cougar Field on Tuesday afternoon to host Bethany Lutheran College at 4:30 p.m.
