Lady Wildcats Meet Spring Arbor in NAIA Women’s Soccer Final Round
FOLEY, Ala. – The Bethel Lady Wildcats will face the defending NAIA National Champion Spring Arbor Cougars in the NAIA Championship Round of 16 Tuesday in Foley, Alabama. The match begins at 10 a.m. CT.
The Lady Wildcats are 11-3-3 on the season. The Cougars are 18-0-2 on the year.
The Lady Cats advanced to the NAIA National Championship Final Site with a 5-4 penalty kick shootout victory at Southeastern Saturday in Lakeland, Florida. Regulation ended in a 3-3 draw.
The Lady Cats overcame adversity and found a way to keep their season alive.
The Cats led 1-nil at the break after a Natasha Dudley goal with 13 seconds left in the half. It was one of only two shots Bethel had in the first 45 minutes.
In the 55th minute, Bethel took a 2-0 lead after a goal by Kelly Nunes on a corner kick by Kalina Stanisic.
The Fire (11-5-3) got on the board in the 70th minute of the game to cut the Lady Cat margin to 2-1.
Less than a minute later, the Fire tied the match on a penalty kick. Regulation ended in the 3-3- draw.
During the first 10-minute overtime session, the Wildcats took a 3-2 lead on Audrey LaRue's goal. It was her team leading 11th goal of the season.
The Fire tied the game with a second overtime score.
Dudley took over in goal due to an injury suffered by Keeper Alicia Perez with 13 minutes remaining in regulation and made a save for Bethel in the fifth round of the shootout to win it.
Carla Cebollada and Ainhoa Chirivella had the two other assists.
Southeastern had a 16-7 edge in shots but the Cats found a way to win after Dudley's dramatic save.
Johanna Veldhuizen, LaRue, Sterre Van Bloemendaal, Chirivella and Elle Carson were all successful with their penalty kicks.
No. 2 nationally ranked Spring Arbor advanced after defeating Siena Heights University 2-1 in the second round. William Cary is the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
Bethel is led is scoring by Audrey LaRue with 11 goals and six assists. Kalina Stanisic has eight goals. Carla Cebollada leads the squad in assists with seven.
Bethel has outscored their opponents 50-17 on the season.
Bethel's Armando (Tico) Guell was voted the MSC Assistant Coach of the Year.
Bethel Defender Paula Pinilla was named to the MSC 1st Team squad. Goalkeeper Alicia Perez and Defender Hilda Moyo were named to the second team.
Lauren Marshall leads the Cougars with 13 goals. Isa Martinez follows with 11 goals. Ariana Stoltzfuz leads the Cougars in assists with nine. Marshall was named the Crossroads Player of the Year. Stoltzfus was named the league's defensive player of the year. Cougar Coach Jason Crist was named Co-Coach of the Year in the Crossroads League.
Spring Arbor has outscored their opponents 75-7 on the season.
The Cougars have dominated the Crossroads League with ten titles and have won the national (2015, 2017, 2022) title three times.
The NAIA Network – the association's official video streaming home – will broadcast 14 matches live at the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship final site in Foley, Ala., and the championship match will be on ESPN3. The NAIA Network, powered by PrestoSports, allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, click below.
Watch:
https://www.naia.org/sports/wsoc/stretch_wsoc
Stats:
https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wsoc/scoreboard
Bracket:
https://www.naia.org/sports/wsoc/2023-24/files/2023_WSOC_Championship_Bracket.pdf