NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 19-ranked Carleton College women's soccer team played visiting St. Catherine University to a 1-1 (2 OT) draw in the MIAC Playoffs Finals. The teams headed to a penalty kick shootout, which the Wildcats won by a 6-5 tally.
With the result, second seed St. Catherine (15-3-2) secured the MIAC's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Championships. The top seeded Knights (13-1-3) entered the day ranked No. 19 in both the IWSOC Coaches Poll and the NCAA Power Index (NPI), the latter of which is used to select the at-large berths in the national tournament.
Carleton was the aggressor for much of the afternoon and finished with an 18-10 edge in shots and a 9-4 margin in corner kicks. The Knights had the majority of dangerous chances throughout the contest.
Katherine Mallon threatened with a shot in the 12th minute, and
Carson Cheng forced a leaping save by Wildcats' goalkeeper Brianna Valdez in the 41st minute.
Lauren Caldwell sent a 56th minute shot just over the crossbar. Ten minutes later,
Lily Shure's driven shot was deflected just outside the right post by a sprawling Valdez
Zaraya Jordan came up with a key defensive play, blocking a shot at the goal line, but Natalie Barnes was able to give the Wildcats the lead in the 70th minute when she collected a loose ball in the box and slotted a shot inside the right post.
The Knights found the equalizer less than three minutes later.
Hadley Twichell collected the ball near midfield, drove forward before sliding the ball to
Lola Feuer for a pass to Caldwell. The senior striker took a touch before curling a shot from near the top of the box into the upper left corner, leveling the match with her first goal of the season.
Carleton kept up the defensive pressure and surrendered only one shot over the final 40 minutes of play — the last 20 minutes of regulation and both 10-minute overtime sessions. Meanwhile, the Knights had seven shots over that span, including a 4-1 edge in shots during the overtime periods.
In the shootout, both sides made their first three attempts. St. Kate's scored again in round four before Valdez registered a save. Round five saw the Knights needing a stop and a score to keep the shootout going, and Carleton goalkeeper
Avery Trapp delivered both. She dove right to keep Jaidyn Richter's shot out of the net then took the next PK for the Knights, calmly slamming the ball into the goal. Both squads converted in round six, before the Wildcats scored and Valdez saved the Knights' attempt in round seven.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will now wait to see if it receives an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships. The 64-team field for the national tournament will be revealed during a selection show on Monday, Nov. 9, streamed live on NCAA.com at 10:30 a.m. CT. The bracket will include 43 conference automatic qualifiers and 21 at-large bids selected via the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
