NDSU Season Ends with Semifinal Loss in Overtime, 2-1

BROOKINGS, S.D. - Fort Wayne freshman Rachel Good scored two goals in a Summit League semifinal on Friday evening to lift her team to a 2-1 overtime victory over the North Dakota State women's soccer team at Fishback Soccer Park.

No. 3-seeded North Dakota State concluded the season with an 8-10 overall record. No. 2 seed Fort Wayne (10-7-1) advanced to the finals of the Summit League Tournament to face top-seeded Oakland.

Sophomore Anisha Kinnarath scored the lone goal for the Bison, tying the match at 1-1 in the 68th minute, but Good scored the game-winner in the 100th minute to give the Mastodons the victory.

NDSU was vying for its third straight Summit League title game appearance.

"I'm a proud coach. I'm proud of this group," said NDSU head coach Mark Cook. "A young team with a lot of inexperience - we've come a long way from the beginning to the end."

"We battled really hard today, we competed, and we gave it everything we had. We got down and tied the game. I'm a proud coach today. I'm disappointed we lost, but this group was fantastic."

The Bison extinguished plenty of Fort Wayne scoring threats throughout the match, starting early with two Mastodon corner kicks in the game's third minute.

Shannon Brooks and Holly Christian, two of North Dakota State's senior defenders, each came up with big plays in the first half. Brooks blocked shots in the eighth and 11th minutes, and Christian made a goal-saving play behind goalkeeper Sierra Bonham to keep the game scoreless in the 37th minute.

Fort Wayne finally broke through with Good's first goal in the 65th minute, but Kinnarath needed little time to create her magnificent equalizer. Only three minutes after Fort Wayne had seized the lead, Kinnarath created some space just outside the corner of the box and unleashed a long-range shot into the top right corner of the goal.

Good of Fort Wayne and Tristyn Walczak of NDSU each found themselves with great scoring opportunities in the 80th minute, but both sent shots barely wide left.

Bonham kept the Bison alive midway through the first overtime, making a diving save of a Fort Wayne header in the 96th minute.

Good scored the game-winner with 40 seconds left in the first overtime period, striking a long-range shot from 20 yards out that beat Bonham.

NDSU senior Brooklyn Dyce - out since Sept. 9 with a broken foot - returned to play for the Bison late in the second half and registered one shot.

Fort Wayne held a 36-12 advantage in shots, but many of the 36 came from long distance. The two teams were even in shots on goal at 7-7.

NOTES: Sierra Bonham set the NDSU single-season record by averaging 6.29 saves per game for the season ... Bonham finished the year with 107 total saves to rank No. 2 on the all-time single-season list at NDSU ... senior defenders Holly Christian and Shannon Brooks were named the All-Tournament Team.