Contact: Nathan Cameron, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

Nov. 21, 2021 - Saturday afternoon, history was made as the No. 9 Loras College women's soccer team (22-0-1, 8-0-0 A-R-C) advanced to the Elite Eight for the very first time with a 2-0 victory over No. 13 Centre College. On Sunday, history continued as the Duhawks punched their ticket to Greensboro, N.C. to compete in the Final Four for the first time in program history with the game coming down to a penalty kick shootout to decide the victor, seeing sophomore Savannah Johnson seal the deal on 4-3 victory in the shootout to keep the Duhawks' dream alive in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. 

The Elite Eight matchup saw the Duhawks take on the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Eagles, who advanced on a shootout win on Saturday against No. 6 Washington University in St. Louis Bears. 

The Eagles and Duhawks battled in the first half, with both sides playing high intensity offense and attacking often. The score remained at a stand still at 0-0 through the 31st minute until junior standout Payton McDonnell broke the tie, scoring on a free kick from 30 yards out to put the Duhawks up 1-0. The lead was short-lived, though, as the Eagles equalized just two minutes later as Katie Feller squared up for a free kick and found Shana Macphail who fired a shot to the bottom left corner to bring the score to 1-1 where it stayed through the first half. 

In the second half, the two teams' grit was on display as they kept pressing the net, hoping to pull away with a goal. That goal came in the 71st minute as McDonnell, the NCAA Division III assists leader, continued to dominate on set plays and put a ball in the box on a corner kick that bounced around and ended up in the lap of freshman defender Emma Casebolt, who scored her first career goal wearing the purple and gold to put the Duhawks up 2-1 in the 71st minute. 

In the closing minutes of the game as the Duhawks changed tactics to play defensively and fight off the Eagles' steady offensive pressuure, La Crosse capitalized on a free kick that saw Feller put a ball into the box that was deflected out and back to Felller again to put another ball into the danger area where Alexis McMahon was waiting to put it away for the late-game equalizer in the 86th minute. 

With the score tied at two apiece at the end of regulation, the two teams went into overtime where they each accumulated three shots total but neither side found the net, forcing the Eagles into their second shootout in as many days while the shootout marked the Duhawks' first of the season. 

In the shootout, La Crosse's Ellie Arndt stepped up to the dot first and scored but McDonnell put hers away for Loras to see the score at 1-1. The tie remained as Feller and Brynn Jacobi both made theirs to bring Ainsley Allen up to shoot for the Eagles, who missed to give the Duhawks the advantage as head coach Matt Pucci called on senior all-conference goalkeeper Meg Wick to shoot third. Wick missed wide to see the two sides tied at 2-2 in the shootout before Jenna Nichols shot for the Eagles and missed their second in a row. Hannah Schmitz was the fourth shooter for the Duhawks and put her shot away to bring La Crosse's Megan Goodman up to shoot, who also made hers. With the game on the line, Pucci turned to Johnson to step up and take the kick, seeing the sophomore forward put it away and close the door on the game, advancing the Duhawks to their first-ever Final Four, winning the shootout 4-3. 

Playoff intensity was on display as the game saw a total of five yellow cards issued, three to La Crosse and two to Loras, with a total of 32 fouls called. The Eagles had a slight offensive edge with 14 total shots in the game to the Duhawks' 13. McDonnell's assist brings her now within one of tying the program's all-time career assists record in just her junior campaign. 

The Duhawks are headed to Greensboro, N.C. to compete on the biggest stage of the year, taking on No. 5 Christopher Newport University, who also has yet to lose a game this season, owning a 20-0-1 record on the year. Kick off is scheduled for 11:00 AM ET on Dec. 3 at UNCG Soccer Stadium on the campus of University of North Carolina Greensboro.