BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team drew 3-3 with Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium. The match was the last of the regular season for both programs.
 
The RiverHawks (13-4-1, 7-3-1 MIAA) finished third in the MIAA standings with 22 points. NSU entered the final week of the regular season tied for first place in the league a year removed from finishing eighth in the conference.
 
Northeastern State will be the No. 3 seed in the 2015 MIAA Championship and will host a playoff match Nov. 4 at DeLoache Field. NSU's opponent will be revealed once all competition is completed Sunday afternoon.
 
The Bearcats (9-8-1, 6-4-1 MIAA) are currently in fourth place in the MIAA standings with 19 points and will finish either fourth or fifth in the final league table based on Sunday's results.
 
SBU struck first in Saturday's regular-season finale with a goal in the 10th minute from Kate Jamison. NSU would answer back in the 30th minute when junior midfielder Jennifer Cudjoe put in a goal off a pass from junior forward Anastasia Robinson.
 
Northeastern State jumped in front early in the second half when Robinson scored in the 48th minute. Cudjoe returned the favor with an assist of her own. NSU then doubled its lead in the 56th minute when sophomore forward Julia Mathis knocked one in with an assist from Robinson.
 
Northeastern State held onto its two-goal advantage until the last 10 minutes of regulation, when the Bearcats scored twice to equalize and send the match into overtime. The game-tying tally came with 21 seconds left in regulation on a goal by Taylor Schmidt.
 
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the two 10-minute OT sessions, and the two sides played to a 3-3 draw. This is the second-straight season that NSU and SBU went to overtime in their last match of the regular season. The RiverHawks defeated the Bearcats in double OT last year.
 
SBU led the total shot count 23-20, but the teams were an even 10-10 in shots on frame. Both teams took three corners.
 
Both junior goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (13-4-1) and SBU keeper Cheyenne Forshey (7-2-1) played all 110 minutes in goal and finished with seven saves and three goals allowed.
 
Robinson scored her 12th goal of the season and now has nine assists for 33 points. She entered her junior year with 11 career points (3g-5a), and she now leads the MIAA in points and assists. She is also second in the league in goals scored.
 
Robinson's 33 points are tied for the third-most in a single season in school history. She is also the first NSU women's soccer player since 2003 to accumulate at least 33 points in one season. Her nine assists are tied for third-most in a single season in school history, and her 12 goals are sixth-most in a single season in program history.
 
Cudjoe also now has 23 points this season (8g-7a) and Mathis has 21 (6g-9a). This is the first time in NSU history that the RiverHawks have three 20-point scorers in the same campaign.
 
Scoring Summary
NSU                 1          2          0          0          –          3
SBU                 1          2          0          0          –          3
 
Individual Scoring
Kate Jamison (SBU) at 9:01 (Karla Jamison)
Jennifer Cudjoe (NSU) at 29:30 (Anastasia Robinson)
Anastasia Robinson (NSU) at 47:57 (Jennifer Cudjoe)
Julia Mathis (NSU) at 55:12 (Anastasia Robinson)
Averi Walker (SBU) at 81:49 (Caroline Karlsson)
Taylor Schmidt (SBU) at 89:39 (Caroline Karlsson)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Jordan Woodruff (NSU) – 7
Cheyenne Forshey (SBU) – 7
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH CHASE WOOTEN
Opening statement…
"Both teams played hard and well today. I give our team a ton of credit for coming back from the 1-0 deficit and getting three-straight goals. (Southwest Baptist) had a very dangerous counter attack and made us pay for some things. We certainly don't like giving up two goals in the last 10 minutes. There was a big chunk of the match I thought we played well, but you have to give (SBU) credit. The pressure they were putting on us forced us to not play particularly well in the last 10 minutes."
 
On the two overtime sessions…
"I thought in overtime both teams were dangerous a couple of times. (SBU) had so much momentum going into overtime while our players were kind of disappointed. I was proud of our team as they were able to regroup and put pressure on Southwest Baptist. They regained the flow of the match."
 
On the team's mindset heading into the MIAA Championship that begins Wednesday…
"We certainly wanted to win the last two matches but effort was not the problem. Our players laced them up and put all of their hearts into it. It was an execution problem not an effort problem. I think if we can tighten up things like completing passes and reading what is on, I think we can play a very complete match."
 
-GoRiverHawksGo.com-