North Dakota State University broke the hearts of the Tommies off of a penalty kick in double overtime scored by senior Brookleyn Dew, ending St. Thomas women’s soccer’s first Division I season with a 1-0 loss Sunday at South Field.
Going into the game, the Tommies (4-12-1, 2-7-0 Summit) and the Bison (3-12-1, 3-6-0 Summit) were tied for eighth in the Summit League standings, with two conference wins and six losses each. This victory broke North Dakota State University’s five game losing streak, and sent the Tommies down a spot in the Summit League rankings.
“Our team played phenomenally. We were the better team, we were able to create, we just didn’t put it away, so I think that’s the bigger piece. But we moved off the ball well, really moved the ball well, (and) we’re able to have a defensive shape that we were proud of,” coach Sheila McGill said.
The game was scoreless until the second overtime, but the Tommies sustained offensive pressure throughout the game. The Tommies finished the game with 16 shots on goal, while the Bisons had nine.
First-year midfielder Sofia Caballero, who had two shots in the second half, said that she was pleased with how her team performed this season.
“I think we shocked a lot of people. We had four wins during the season,” Caballero said. “We battled, we fought hard. Sometimes it wasn’t good enough, but we were right there the whole time, and I think we’re in a really good spot to keep improving for next year.”
A foul called in the second overtime on Tommie’s senior defender Natalie Engel gave the Bison a penalty kick, which they then scored on to win the game. McGill, who just wrapped up her 15 season with the Tommies, said that she didn’t agree with the referee’s call.
“Unfortunately, the call made by the referee I disagree with, but at the same time, it doesn’t change how we played the game. I think that truly the outcome is that we played our hearts out, and we’re able to play good soccer,” McGill said.
Before the game, the Tommies celebrated senior day, and honored the eight upperclassmen as a final send off to their college careers. McGill said that she was thankful for their leadership during the Tommies’s first DI season.
“We had great senior leadership, and we were able to have a lot of our younger players learn from that senior leadership, so (I am) really proud of what the girls did today,” McGill said.
Looking towards next season, Caballero said that she was excited for new athletes to join the team, and that she is looking forward to training.
“It’ll be fun to have them in the mix, and just the battles, the practices to keep us going, and just to get really stronger over the offseason. A lot stronger, and a lot faster,” said Caballero.
Though the ending was not what the Tommies were hoping for, Caballero said that the team can learn from this experience.
“It was a tough ending to the game today, but I think we can definitely learn that we need to have that final touch because we were right there,” Caballero said. “We’re just missing that final touch.”
The Tommies will play again next fall in St. Thomas’s second season in the Summit League.
Owen Larson can be reached at lars6521@stthomas.edu.