LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University women's soccer stumbled during penalty kicks in its Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinal match against Missouri-St. Louis after tying the Tritons behind a score from senior midfielder Emma Knoebel. The Bearcats were the top-seeded team in the tournament and ranked fifth in the NCAA Midwest Region as of the rankings released on November 3. 

The Bearcats went down 0-1 in the third minute of the match after a long strike, beyond the 18-yard box from UMSL's Mia Millazzo. The shot narrowly escaped the glove of senior goalkeeper Mercedes King, clipping the upper bar and put the Tritons up.

McKendree played catch-up for the remainder of the match, out-shooting the Tritons in the second half, 7-3, equalizing the contest only a few minutes into the second period of play. In the 49th minute, following a flurry of chances, the Bearcats fired the tying score with a strike from the senior Knoebel. The midfielder Knoebel collected a header in the 18-yard box from sophomore midfielder/forward Destiny Johnson, firing it past the Tritons' keeper. It marked Knoebel's fourth goal of the season and Johnson's first assist of the fall and second of her career.

The remainder of the match, both teams earned a number of chances with McKendree nearly scoring multiple times off of corner kicks and precision passing. Sophomore midfielder/forward Anna Stiffler and sophomore midfielder Katie Spotanski both nearly converted shot attempts with Stiffler and the opposing keeper colliding during an attempt with no player controlling the ball. Both overtimes also led to null results, putting the match into the hands of penalty kicks. 

The round of PKs led to a 5-4 results for the visiting Tritons, making all of their kick from the line attempts. McKendree converted on four of five attempts.

UP NEXT:
The Bearcats will wait on the NCAA Midwest Region poll results with the next regional poll being released by the NCAA on November 10. The last midwest region poll placed the Bearcats fifth in the Midwest and the top-ranked GLVC team in the region.  (November 3 Poll)

The NCAA regional first round will take place on November 18 and 19 at the top seed sites and the final rankings for the Midwest Region will be released on November 15. 

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