ATLANTA – Pacific Lutheran broke through for a goal with less than seven minutes remaining to push the Lutes past Maryville 1-0 Saturday in the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship First Round.
Hannah Cecil was on the receiving end of a long through-ball from Kayden Hulquist that put Cecil into the clear just outside the Maryville penalty area. Cecil dribbled forward and slotted it past Scots goalkeeper
Sydney Mahr in a one-on-one situation with just 6:40 left on the clock.
It was Cecil's 13th goal of the season.
After the Lutes goal, Maryville was able to get shots away from
Anne Marie Konieczny and
Anabelle Procter in the final minute, but the Scots could not draw level.
Maryville was holding its own against the Lutes from Tacoma, Washington, in a match that saw a combined eight shots on goal. Pacific Lutheran outshot the Scots 13-5 and worked its way for 11 corner kicks to one for Maryville.
Ball possession time was close, favoring Pacific Lutheran 51 percent to 49 percent.
Saturday's result halted Maryville's streak of five straight wins and 10 wins in the last 11 matches. The Scots in 2024 swept both the Collegiate Conference of the South regular season and tournament championships for the second year in a row. And they landed the CCS Player of the Year for the third straight season in two-time winner
Sierra Lee.
