OMAHA, Neb. – Defeating No. 12 ranked Midland University in a penalty kick shootout, Rocky Mountain College's women's soccer team continued their historic run in the 2019 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship. The team will advance to the tournament's final site for the first time in school history.
The Battlin' Bears and Midland University Warriors kept each other scoreless through regulation and two overtime periods. Midland held a 9-7 edge in shots through the first period while both teams had six in the second. Rocky recorded the only shot through both overtime periods which was saved by Midland's goalkeeper, Rachel Thigpen.
Rocky's goalkeeper, Maia Wetzel, recorded her 14th shutout of the season. The junior from Billings, Mont., proved crucial down the stretch as she pulled in seven saves, including five in the first period alone. Thigpen had eight saves on the day.
With the score remaining at 0-0 through 110 minutes, the two teams headed into the final decisive penalty kick shootout.
Midland misfired on the first penalty kick with the ball going wide left. Wetzel left her post at the goal to bury Rocky's first into the bottom right corner of the net.
After Midland knocked in the second penalty kick, Mhari Smith found the back of the net and put Rocky up 2-1 after two rounds.
Midland threaded the ball past Wetzel in the third round, but Rocky went 3-for-3 in the shootout as Haley Nicholson knocked the ball through to the top left of the net.
Both goalkeepers recorded saves in the fourth round. Rocky up by a single penalty kick, needed a save to close the match out.
Wetzel rose to the occasion once again. The goalkeeper knocked away the Warrior's fifth shot to secure the victory and keep the Battlin' Bears' season alive.
The match counts as Rocky's second victory in penalty kicks in 2019. The Battlin' Bears defeated Southern Oregon in a similar shootout in the semifinals of the 2019 Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship.
Rocky was the lone No. 3 seed at an opening round to advance to the NAIA Championship's final site. The Battlin' Bears will next face No. 2 overall Keiser in Orange Beach, Ala., at 11 a.m. CT.