MANKATO, Minn. — No. 2 Minnesota State (16-1-3, 12-1-2) defeated Northern State (11-4-4, 9-3-3) after a 3-3 match on Friday at The Pitch, with the Mavericks holding a 9-8 edge in a thrilling 13 round shootout. With the win, the Mavericks advanced to the NSIC Championship Game. The Mavericks scored twice in the first half and once in the second half, while the Wolves had one goal in the first half and two in the second half. Minnesota State put seven of its 13 shots on goal, compared with six on 20 attempts for Northern State.
Amara Smith scored twice to reach 15 goals for the season, converted a penalty kick and recorded season highs with five shots and five shots on goal.
Maddix Archer added an unassisted goal on two shots.
Elan Litt recorded an assist and had one shot
. Savanna Stockness scored twice in the shootout with her second one going down as the winner.
Smith opened the scoring at 4:12 off an assist from Litt, and
Lauren McAlpine later made a save in the 17th minute to keep the Mavericks ahead. Northern State had another attempt from Albert at 19:16 before Smith put a shot on frame at 21:11 and Jaylee Hofer scored at 21:39 to tie it 1-1. Minnesota State answered the first-half equalizer and moved back in front at 29:29 when Archer scored on a rocket of a shot from the right side of the box to make it 2-1. Minnesota State added pressure after Archer's goal with attempts from
Addie Dobratz and
Abby Hoiska, and the Mavericks carried a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Minnesota State pushed the margin to 3-1 early in the second half when Smith converted a penalty kick at 51:03 after a stretch that included shots from
Mila Rustin, Smith and Litt, plus two corner kicks. After the Mavericks goal, the Wolves built momentum and carried it through the remainder of the half. Northern State answered at 55:44 on a goal by Lauren Youngquist off a Kylie Albert corner kick assist, trimming the Mavericks' lead to 3-2. McAlpine helped keep Minnesota State in front with a save on Sarah Helderop in the 68th minute, and the Mavericks also got second-half chances from
Anna Stromberg and Smith. Northern St. continued to press and tied the match on Helderop's goal at 83:53, before a shot in the closing minutes bounced off the crossbar and out, leaving the match even 3-3 at the end of regulation.
McAlpine kept Minnesota State level in the first overtime, saving Kylie Albert's shot to the bottom center in the 94th minute during a scoreless segment. The Wolves had another shot from Albert at 99:35, but neither side broke through as the Wolves controlled the pace. The first overtime ended with the and the match was still tied 3-3.
Minnesota State worked through a scoreless second overtime that stayed tied 3-3. Northern State generated shots by Deshani Peters and Helderop, with Helderop's attempt going out right. Archer received a yellow card at 107:40, but the Mavericks still produced a late chance when
Ruthie Gyasi took a shot at 108:23 and the 10-minute overtime ended without a goal.
Minnesota State recovered from misses on its first three shootout attempts and converted nine of its final 10 to outlast the Wolves, with
Savanna Stockness' second make followed by a Northern St. miss on the final attempt. The shootout was back and forth as the teams went blow for blow. Both goalkeepers made clutch saves to extend the match while the shooters consistently found the back of the net. Earlier, Stromberg,
Meghan Sullivan and Archer missed for the Mavericks, while Northern State missed three of its first four attempts against McAlpine.
Meghan Przybilla started Minnesota State's run of makes, and
Reese Hilsenbeck, Stockness,
Megan Grater,
Maclayne Menzel, Rustin and Hudson followed with successful attempts while the Wolves had their own run of consecutive makes. After Przybilla missed her second try and Northern State also missed, Hilsenbeck and Stockness each converted again before the final miss secured the Mavericks a spot in the NSIC Championship.
Up next, the Minnesota State soccer team hosts Bemidji State in the NSIC Championship on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. at The Pitch.
