Petersen's big day not enough against Loras

INDIANOLA, Iowa – It looked as though Simpson and Loras would battle to a scoreless tie for the second straight year.

But with 35 seconds remaining, Lisa Waltz scored the game's only goal as Loras snuck by Simpson, 1-0 Saturday afternoon at Buxton Stadium.

After more than 109 scoreless minutes in an exciting, tightly contested match, Loras (10-5-3, 5-1-2 IIAC) advanced into the attacking third in the final seconds. Jessica Kern played a cross to Waltz, who tucked the feed into the left corner of the net.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Simpson (9-7, 5-3 IIAC), which will enter next week's Iowa Conference Tournament with the No. 5 seed, resulting in a trip to fourth-seeded Wartburg.

Loras outshot Simpson 27-10, but the Storm defense proved up to the challenge for a majority of the afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Petersen (Indianola, Iowa) made a number of challenging saves, totaling 14 on the day.

Simpson had chances to score in regulation and overtime, but the Loras defense made a number of crucial stops.

The first came in the 79th minute, when senior midfielder Erin Vinnedge (Great Falls, Mont.) came down the right wing and slotted a cross to freshman forward Ashlee Krider (Norwalk, Iowa), whose header went just wide of the goal.

With just under two minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Nicole Dillenburg (Urbandale, Iowa) found senior midfielder Mollie McMahon (Des Moines, Iowa) in the Loras third. As McMahon prepared to shoot from right wing, Loras' Lisa Smith recovered just in time to thwart McMahon's attempt.

The Storm also had a chance late in the second overtime after the Duhawks pulled their goalkeeper on a corner kick. As Katie Chambers retreated to defend the goal following the corner, Simpson was unable to secure full possession of the ball to take a shot at the open net.

Simpson's matchup with Wartburg will take place either Nov. 3 or 4 in Waverly. Follow www.simpson.edu/storm for complete game information.

Notes: Seniors Heather Akes (Sr., D, Runnels, Iowa), McMahon and Vinnedge. played the final home match of their careers Saturday … Petersen's 14 saves is a season-high and the most by a Simpson goalkeeper since Whitney Franker made 14 against Wartburg Oct. 7, 2006 … she was three saves away from tying a school record … in the regular season matchup, Wartburg defeated Simpson 2-0 in Waverly … the two teams met in last year's IIAC Tournament, with Wartburg notching a 4-0 win in the semifinal round.