WHEATON, Ill. – The No. 19 St. Thomas women’s soccer team drew No. 15 Carnegie Mellon University 0-0 after double overtime, but fell just short in a penalty shootout Saturday, losing 6-5 to the Tartans in the Elite Eight of the Division lll NCAA Tournament at Joe Bean Stadium.
It marked the second straight season the Tommies bowed out of the tournament after falling in a penalty shootout.
“I think more than anything, it was just a battle of two great teams really just battling in the midfield,” St. Thomas head coach Sheila McGill said. “I think it takes a toll on us playing back-to-back games with that kind of intensity in front of us.”
The Tommies advanced Friday after beating No. 6 Wheaton in a penalty shootout. St. Thomas played 220 minutes and competed in two penalty shootouts in the span of 29 hours, a task McGill believed asked a lot of her team.
“I’m unbelievably proud of this group,” she said. “There’s not one star player; they all compete together and play as one.”
The Tommies (18-3-3) and Tartans (15-5-1) battled back and forth throughout the midfield all game. Neither side generated many goal-scoring opportunities throughout regulation or in the overtime periods.
The Tartans controlled the tempo early on in the first half, but once the Tommies found their footing, neither team could assert itself as the dominant side.
“The back three were absolutely phenomenal working off of each other,” McGill said. “I thought our outside mids did a fantastic job of coming back to help on defense. It was just an all-around great team performance, and I’m proud of every single player.”
The Tommies came out of halftime with newfound energy in hopes of scoring early and finding some momentum, but the Tartans’ back line wouldn’t budge.
“Our offense tried so hard to generate anything, but they were such a good team,” Tommie defender Lauren Wikstrom said. “Their defense played really good and it showed, but I felt like we played on the same level with them all game.”
The two sides ended regulation scoreless, and neither team could find the net in two ten minute overtime periods of sudden-death soccer.
“We tried to overwhelm them with a lot of pressure, but they really held their ground,” Wikstrom said.
In the penalty shootout, Tommie goalkeeper Sarah Pasternak saved the second attempt by Carnegie Mellon, but it wasn’t enough after midfielder Liz Luotto’s attempt went wide left on St. Thomas’ fifth kick from the spot.
After five rounds, the shootout was tied 4-4. In the seventh round, Tommie midfielder Natalie Engel’s shot was saved by Tartan goalkeeper Andrea Sipos, sending Carnegie Mellon through to the national semifinals.
“It was our third PK shootout in three weeks, and the big challenge for us today was we couldn’t use the same shooters as yesterday due to predictability,” McGill said. “We had to change some things up, and you know, that’s just how it ended.”
Saturday’s Elite Eight appearance marked the first for the St. Thomas women’s soccer team since 1987.
Carnegie Mellon advances to the national semifinals on Dec. 6 facing the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Messiah College and Williams College.
Jacob Schneider can be reached at schn6923@stthomas.edu.