November 9, 2018- Emporia State Soccer fell 2-1 to Minnesota State in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional Tournament on Friday in Edmond, Okla. The Hornets finish the season with a 14-6-1 record for the best record in school history and gained their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament as the #5 seed in the Central Region.
The Mavericks took the lead in the 18th minute of the match after Emporia State's Jillian Patton made two diving saves. Minnesota State's Morgan Cottew sent a third shot just out of Patton's reach for the score on an assist by Dakota Wendell. The two teams played even for the remainder of the half and the Hornets trailed 1-0 at the half.
It didn't take long for the Hornets to get started in the second half. In the first minute of the half, Ashlyn Lakin sent a flip throw-in from the sideline into the box where Aislinn Hughes redirected it to a header shot that made it past the keeper for the equalizer for the Hornets to tie the score at 1-1. The teams would battle back-and-forth for the remainder of the half with neither team able to gain the offensive edge and force an overtime period.
Minnesota State came out aggressive in the overtime period and would out-shoot Emporia State 4-0 and take the 3-0 advantage from the corner. With 12 seconds left in the first overtime period, Dakota Wendell took a pass from Morgan Cottew and sent a shot from 20 yards out into the back of the net for the golden goal win.
The Hornets were led by Aislinn Hughes with one goal while Rachel Marshall and Tanna Benefiel each took three shots. Ashlyn Lakin recorded the assist on the Hornets goal. Jillian Patton played all 99:48 in goal for the Hornets with eight saves.
Season Recap: The Hornets recorded the best season in school history with a record of 14-6-1 on the season and 8-3 in the MIAA. They finished as the #3 seed heading into the MIAA Tournament and hosted their first ever post-season match at the ESU Pitch in which they defeated Northeastern State to advance to the MIAA Semi-Final match for the second time in program history. Emporia State finished the season with a perfect 8-0 record at home. The Hornets received the #5 seed in the Central Region to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
