Box Score
Northland College won their first UMAC postseason game in program history with the 2-1 win against Northwestern this afternoon. The LumberJills (15-3-1, 11-3-0 UMAC, 1-0 Postseason) will move on to the Conference Championship game on Saturday against St. Scholastica. Northwestern (10-8-2, 9-3-2 UMAC) falls after knocking the Jills out of last year's playoffs with a win of the same score.
The LumberJills got on the board early as they connected on another corner kick goal. Amanda Seely (Sr./ Powell, Ohio), Northland's all-time assists leader kicked the ball to the middle of the box where a sliding Mel Rasor (Jr./ Mundelein, Ill.) found the back of the net. For Seely, it marks her 16th assist of the year. For Rasor, it was her 18th goal on the year.
The equalizer came late in the first half. A cross ball after a direct kick found the Eagles' leading scorer Rebekah Kirby wide open two yards in front of the goal. A quick flick to the opposite side got past Katie Mahoney (So./ Pittsburg, Pa.) and tied the game at one. Heidi Anderson picked up an assist on the play. Mahoney finished the contest with one save.
Northland came out of the halftime break very aggressive and found plenty of scoring opportunities. They amassed five cornerkicks and seven shots in the second half. The Jills finally found the go ahead goal as senior captains Mariah Cook (Sr./ Washburn, Wis.) and Sarah Strobino (Sr./ Buffalo, N.Y.) hooked up to break the tie. Rasor played a through ball on the left side of the box to Strobino, who then crossed the ball in front of Eagles' keeper Rhonda Morgan. Cook met the ball at the back post and put it in to punch the Jills ticket to the Championship. Rasor and Strobino both got credited with assists, while Cook tallied her 19th goal.
The Championship will be held at the College of St. Scholastica on Saturday at 2 p.m.