(LEBANON, Ill., Nov. 6)—The McKendree College women’s soccer team scored a pair of second-half goals to rally for a 2-1 victory Monday at home against Benedictine College in the semifinal round of the NAIA Region V Tournament.

 

By winning, McKendree established a new team record with its 13^th consecutive victory. The Bearcats, ranked No. 14 in the NAIA, improve to 16-3 on the year and will host Wednesday’s regional championship game against Graceland University. Wednesay’s match will begin at 1 p.m.

 

McKendree, the top seed in the NAIA Region V Tournament, fell behind 1-0 in Monday’s game on an own goal in the 12^th minute of play. The Bearcats tied the game five minutes into the second half, when junior midfielder Brittany Fuzessery (Granite City, Ill./Granite City) (Granite City, Ill./Granite City) took a pass from senior forward Ray Ray Cole (Raytown, Mo./St. Teresa's) (Raytown, Mo./St. Teresa’s) and buried a shot from 15 yards out. It was Fuzessery’s sixth goal of the season.

 

With just under 14 minutes to play, Cole scored the game-winner when she redirected a shot by senior forward Jenna Shellenberg (Troy, Ill./Triad) (Troy, Ill./Triad) into the lower right corner of the goal.

 

McKendree was able to hold off one late surge by Benedictine. The Ravens had their only corner kick of the match in the final five seconds of play, but the Bearcats’ defense was able to knock the ball out of the box as time expired.

 

Statistically, the Bearcats dominated the contest with a 30-4 edge in shots while holding a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks.

 

Senior Natalie Jameson (Troy, Ill./Triad) (Troy, Ill./Triad) made two saves to pick up her 15^th victory of the season in goal for McKendree. Anne Freudenberg collected 12 saves for Benedictine, which closes its season with an overall record of 13-4-2.