(JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., Nov. 17)—The McKendree University women's soccer team was edged Sunday afternoon by the University of Southern Indiana in the championship game of the 2019 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The top-seeded Bearcats and No.7 seed Screaming Eagles battled to a 0-0 draw through two overtimes before USI prevailed 4-3 in penalty kicks.
 
McKendree moves to 15-3-3 on the season and will now await the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship Selection Show, which takes place on Monday at 5 p.m. CT.
 
"It was a great game," said McKendree head coach Tim Strange. "When it comes to PK's, most of the time it's luck. We've been fortunate to be on the good side of those in tournament play, a couple of years ago (against Truman State), but we've also been on this side. When you look at things, it's a tie out there. We battled, both teams battled and I'm pleased with the way we played."
 
Shots on goal in Sunday's finals were 19-18 in favor of Southern Indiana, with the Screaming Eagles holding a slight 9-7 advantage in shots on goal. All seven of the Bearcats' shots at the net came during the second half and first overtime period. In fact, McKendree put together a flurry of activity in front of the Screaming Eagles' net, taking five shots over the final nine minutes of regulation. USI keeper Maya Etienne made three saves, including a point-blank stop of junior Alynnah O'Leary (Collinsville, IL/Collinsville High School) in the 82^nd minute of play.
 
In the first overtime, freshman forward Paula Melsheimer (Reil, Germany/Gymnasium Traben-Trarbach) was stopped twice in the first six minutes before a third attempt sailed just wide in the 99^th minute.
 
"I liked the pressure we showed," said Strange. "We kept coming at them and attacking, but they were up to the challenge as well."
 
After the teams fought through a scoreless second overtime, the contest came down to penalty kicks. Sophomore midfielder Emma Knoebel (Maryville, IL/Collinsville High School), senior forward Sydnee Carroll (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West High School) and sophomore midfielder Olivia Dreyer (Quincy, IL/Quincy Notre Dame High School) found the back of the net for McKendree. With Southern Indiana shooting first, the match came down to a final attempt from Melsheimer. She ripped a shot targeted for the lower right corner of the goal, but Etienne was able to get enough of the ball to prevent it from crossing the goal line.
 
Senior Zoe Brochu (Ajax, Ontario, Canada/Pickering High School) made nine saves in goal for McKendree. Brochu also made a spectacular diving stop of USI's next-to-last attempt in PK's to keep the Bearcats' hopes alive.