DUBUQUE, Iowa – After a second consecutive 0-0 (2 OT) draw in the NCAA Tournament, the Carleton College women's soccer team was eliminated from the postseason after falling 4-2 in a penalty shootout at No. 2-ranked Loras College.
"I am so proud of the fight and grit shown by this team. Not only tonight, but all season long," said Carleton head coach
Jessica Mueller. "This group never backs down. They face challenges head on. They are so brave, and they do it for and with each other. We strive to improve every day, every week, every season, every year. It takes a huge amount of time, energy, and commitment.
"Our seniors have taken this program to new heights every season. Our juniors have never lost a conference game. Our sophomores only know the NCAA Tournament, and now our freshmen only know the round of 32. I am so incredibly excited to see what we're able to continue to achieve and accomplish moving forward."
Loras (20-0-1) entered the game at No. 2 in the NCAA's Power Index (NPI) rankings and No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches national poll. The Duhawks possessed the best scoring defense in the country—yielding only 0.15 goals allowed per game?—and scored the 29th-most goals (3.05 per game). This was the first time that Loras had been shut out this season.
Carleton (14-2-7) entered at the NCAA Tournament listed at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and ranked at No. 32 by the NPI formula. The Knights led their conference in scoring at 2.3 goals per game and were a close second in defense at 0.63 goals allowed per game.
Loras nearly had a lightning-quick start, as a long ball less than a minute in was flicked past the entire Carleton line by Savannah Johnson, but All-MIAC defender
Zaraya Jordan raced back and cleared off the goal-line. From there, the game settled into a back-and-forth, with Loras pressing high, and the Knights looking to break the press with sharp passing.
Carleton had a positive spell later in the half, culminating in
Kathryn Kresse latching onto a through ball in the box in the 35th minute. The junior put a chip shot over the goalkeeper, but it rang the crossbar, and the rebound try was blocked. Five minutes later, Johnson grabbed a loose ball in the box, but
Avery Trapp made a difficult reaction save on the ensuing shot.
The Duhawks locked down the typically prolific Knights offense in the second half, keeping Carleton from taking a shot. Loras had five shots on goal, all stopped by Trapp, and hit the post off a corner kick in the 88th minute.
Carleton got forward a bit more in the opening overtime period, and Kresse capped another move with a threatening shot, but rolled it less than a foot wide of the post. Lauren Riggle put two shots on goal in the second overtime period for Loras, but both were saved by Trapp, sending the Knights to a penalty shootout for the second consecutive game.
Sierra Morgano clipped the post with the opening spot-kick, and
Piper Dean scored to put the Knights up 1-0. Emerson Gasmann scored to knot the shootout, and Kresse's chest-high shot was saved on a dive by Duhawks' goalkeeper Kyndal Kells. Savannah Johnson cashed her kick to give Loras a 2-1 lead on the next attempt.
Lily Shure, taking her first touch of the game off the bench, missed her try, and Isabel Russmann finished low and to the right to make it 3-1.
Thea Traw kept the Knights' season alive for the moment when she scored from the spot for the second straight night, but Reagan Lindsay sealed the shootout for the hosts with a sharp finish.
Loras took 24 shots in the game, 13 on goal. Carleton had four total attempts, one on frame. The Duhawks took eight corners to Carleton's two.
Trapp made 13 saves in the game, easily a career high and tied for the 10th-most in a single game in Carleton history. The sophomore goaltender has shone under bright lights, notching her two highest-save games in NCAA tournament contests with nine stops against California Lutheran last year marking her previous high. Kresse had three of Carleton's four shots.
The Knights continued arguably the best run in program history this season, tying for the fourth-most wins in Carleton annals with 14. Carleton will return 9-of-11 starters from this game, but the Knights will graduate a talented senior class, including Dean—a 2023 All-American—and Traw, her stalwart defensive partner, who both played all 110 minutes of the contest. This group has the best overall record for a class in Carleton history, finishing 50-13-15 for a .737 winning percentage through their careers (see charts below).
Most Wins in Program History
18-6-0 (.750) — in 2008
16-3-2 (.809) — in 2023
15-3-2 (.800) — in 2010
14-3-0 (.824) — in 1982
14-2-7 (.769) — in 2024
13-5-0 (.722) — in 2007
13-2-3 (.806) — in 2022
Best Four-Year Winning Percentages (Non-Overlapping) in Program History
.737 (50-13-15) — 2021 thru 2024
.717 (56-20-7) — 2007 thru 2010
.683 (43-18-7) — 1981 thru 1984
.641 (41-22-4) — 1998 thru 2001
