Storm suffer heartbreaking loss in penalty kick shootout

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Simpson College women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking result to No. 21 Loras in the American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship, falling 3-2 in penalty kicks.

The rematch of the 2022 championship match lived up to the hype, seeing two of the top teams in the region battle to a 1-1 draw through 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods. The game then went into a penalty kick shootout to determine which team would secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Freshman Meredith Downs came up with a huge save on the Duhawks' first attempt before Maddie Hays found the back of the net to give Simpson a 1-0 lead in the shootout. The Storm's next two attempts both hit the left post, however, as Loras tied it up after three rounds. Simpson went ahead in the count again after Jordyn Foelske followed a Downs' save with a conversion, but the Duhawks stayed alive with a make and save in the fifth round.

In a sudden death scenario, Libby Perry skimmed a shot inside the right post to put the pressure on the Storm. Julia Wagoner fired a shot to the same spot as Perry, but Kyndal Kells swatted it away with one hand to lift the Duhawks (16-1-1) to victory.

Earlier in the game, Cassie Nash gave Simpson (15-2-2) a 1-0 edge with an incredible run that fooled the Duhawks defense. The senior sprinted down the sideline with one Loras defender on her heels and managed to pass the ball to herself around a second defender before firing in a shot to the middle of the net. It was just the fifth goal allowed by the Duhawks all season long.

The Storm will now await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 6 to see if their season continues.

NOTES

• Loras earned the tournament championship for the 16th time in program history.
• This was only the third time Simpson has gone into a penalty kick shootout in the conference tournament. The last time was in 2006, also against Loras.
• The Storm are now 17-17-4 all-time in the conference playoffs.