Box Score Box Score

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Scholastica women's soccer team put a scare into the third-ranked and unbeaten Trinity University (Texas) Tigers on Saturday night, but the Tigers proved to be too much in defeating the Saints 5-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers scored three minutes and 16 seconds into the game on an Abigail Loar goal. They then tacked on another 11 minutes in with a tally coming from Hannah Kuhl.

However, the Saints would counter with Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Offensive Player of the Year Kelsey Kehtel (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) as she netted a goal less than two minutes later to make it 2-1. It was Kehtel again in the 32nd minute with the equalizer to tie it at 2-2.

To put things into perspective, Trinity came in having allowed just four goals all season and two of the four came against seventh-ranked Hardin-Simmons University (Texas) in the second game of the season.

However, Trinity answered 56 seconds later on a Kirby Peddicord goal off of a corner kick to go into halftime with a 3-2 lead. CSS senior goalkeeper Bailey Mahlum (Bismarck, N.D./Bismarck HS) made nine saves in the first half.

The Saints would get just one shot off in the second half as the Tigers added to their lead with goals in the 62nd and 76th minute to make the final 5-2.

Trinity out-shot the Saints 35-3 in the contest. Mahlum made a career-high 15 saves in her final collegiate start, while Katie Garrett didn't make any and got the win for Trinity. The Tigers (21-0-0) move on to the second round to face Hardin-Simmons, who won 3-0 over the University of Texas-Dallas.

The Saints (16-5-1) have to say goodbye to seniors Megan Flesvig (Duluth, Minn./Proctor HS), Bailey Mahlum (Bismarck, N.D./Bismarck HS), Molly Bergmann (Walker, Minn./Walker-Hackensack-Akeley HS), and Malia Grosskreutz (Honomu, Hawaii/Waiakea HS (Lewis & Clark)). For future St. Scholastica women's soccer news, keep checking csssaints.com.