Simpson’s historical season comes to close in NCAA Second Round

LA CROSSE, Wis. – A historical season for the Simpson College women's soccer team came to a close in the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament as the Storm fell 3-1 to No. 11 Wis.-La Crosse.

Trailing 2-1 with less than seven minutes left in the game, Simpson generated a corner kick that resulted in a heartbreaking turn of events. Brissa Valadez got the first touch off the corner and was nearly taken to the ground before crossing the ball in to Cassie Nash, who appeared to have scored her second equalizing goal of the game. However, it was ruled the ball did not cross the line before being kicked away by Sophie Pope, and the hosts took advantage of a stunned Simpson squad by running down the field and adding a third tally.

"We decided to chase the game with 15 minutes left," said head coach Jeremy Reinert. "The season was on the line and we had nothing to lose. I think we generated a number of dangerous chances and felt like we had earned a goal. Any time you send those kinds of numbers forward, you're really vulnerable to give one up. It doesn't really matter if you lose 2-1 or 3-1, the result is the same. I thought we gave ourselves a chance to make it 2-2 and play for 20 more minutes, and it didn't go that way."

Nash's first equalizing goal came just 82 seconds into the second half. Much like her first goal in yesterday's win, she took advantage of a bad pass on the Eagle's backline, cut towards the center of the goal and fired a shot into the back of the net. It was the first goal scored against Wis.-La Crosse at home this season.

"Cassie is special - maybe the best athlete in Division III women's soccer and probably most sports," said Reinert. "She's the conference MVP of our basketball league and conference MVP of our women's soccer league. She gives us chances every single match. She came out in the second half, said she wasn't ready to be done with her career and gave us a chance to stay in the game longer."

The Eagles (19-1-1) scored what was ultimately the game-winning goal in the 59th minute off the foot of Sera Speltz. Wis.-La Crosse advances to the third round for the third consecutive season and will face fellow American Rivers Conference foe, Loras, next weekend.

Simpson concludes the year with a 16-3-2 record, the most wins since 2001 among many other milestones and accomplishments.

"We put together the best season in Simpson women's soccer modern history this year," said Reinert. "We felt like we were deserving to be in the tournament the last two seasons and knew that whether it was through the AQ or an at-large bid, once we got here, we were a team that could play with this caliber of opponents. La Crosse was the better team on the day, but we gave them a run. That's a top 11 team in the country, and they might play for a while. We're an opponent that can play on this stage and I'm really proud of where this group is at."

NOTES

• Simpson moves to 2-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and ends the season with 16 wins, the most since 2001.
• Cassie Nash's goal was the first allowed by the Eagles on their home turf this season. She scored all six of Simpson's postseason goals and concludes the year with 22.