The UMSL Tritons knocked off previously unbeaten Maryville, Thursday night, to advance to Saturday’s GLVC championship game. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Women’s Soccer | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | OT 2 | PKs | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #5 UMSL (13-3-3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| #1 Maryville (15-0-3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| Time | Team | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 70:05 |  | Emily Bloomfield (1) FREE KICK. |
| 84:52 |  | Emily Doane (4) Assisted By: Lotte Brands. |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
CREVE COEUR, MO — The fifth-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s soccer team pulled off its biggest win of the 2024 season on Thursday, when it upset top-seeded and No. 8-ranked Maryville in a Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinal game played at the Creve Coeur Soccer Park.
UMSL and Maryville were tied 1-1 through regulation and two overtime periods, which meant the match would go to penalty kicks. Both teams scored on each of their first four tries, but Triton goalkeeper Mary Kate Neal made a save on Maryville’s fifth attempt.
That set the stage for a possible UMSL on its fifth try, which became reality when senior Kayley Judy fired a shot into the Maryville net for the final score to win the game.
The Tritons (13-3-3) will now play No. 3 seed McKendree in the championship game, which will be on Saturday, November 16, at the Soccer Park. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
It will be the sixth time UMSL has played in the conference final. Should they win, it would be the program’s first conference title.
Kayley Judy scored the game-winning penalty kick goal in UMSL’s win over No. 8 Maryville, Thursday night. (Photo courtesy: UMSL Athletics)
Thursday’s contest was a true defensive battle, as neither team could score in the first half. In fact, neither team could break through until UMSL’s Emily Bloomfied scored on a free kick, following a Maryville handball inside its own goal box in the 71st minute.
The Tritons tried to make that 1-0 lead stick, but Maryville made a play in the 85th minute that resulted in a goal that tied the score.
Neither team could score in the final five minutes of regulation, or in either overtime. Although Maryville thought it scored as time expired in the final seconds of the second overtime, but a foul was called on the Saints which negated the goal.
Neal also had to make an incredible diving save on a point-blank Maryville shot late in the second overtime to keep the score tied at 1.
That set the stage for the final penalty kicks.
Bloomfield went first for UMSL and scored. She was then followed by Taylor Martin, Jada Holloman, and Aubree Wallace, who all scored as well. On Maryville’s fifth attempt, the Saints’ shooter tried a shot high and to her left, but Neal was able to leap and get a hand on the ball and knock it over the crossbar for a miss.
That’s when Judy stepped up and nailed a shot to win the game, which set off a wild celebration on the field for the Tritons. There were hugs and tears and high-fives all around as UMSL put itself in the GLVC Championship Game for the first time since 2015.
