Ashland Women Lose In Overtime To Panthers, 1-0

The No. 15-ranked Ashland University women's soccer team lost 1-0 in overtime to Drury in an NCAA Division II Midwest split regional opening-round game on Thursday (Nov. 18) afternoon at Ferguson Field.
 
Ashland's season comes to an end at 15-2-3, and with Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
 
"Hats off to the Drury," said Ashland head coach Cayleb Paulino. "They were better in the individual challenges today, and they put one in the back of the net. We had some games bounce our way, and today just wasn't our day for us. A lot to build off of for the younger players moving forward.
 
"We talked about raising the standard of the program. We put ourselves in a position exactly where we wanted to be, the NCAA tournament. I'm just fortunate enough to be around a very special group. You could tell that after the game, how heartbroken the group was. There's a lot to build off. We're in a good spot."
 
The Panthers (16-4-1) will take on Saginaw Valley State (13-5-3) in an NCAA second-round game on Saturday at noon in Ashland.
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Chloe Cash scored the game's only goal in the 105^th minute on a cross from Hailey Kemmer. The goal came with Drury having the wind advantage in the second overtime period.
• Ashland had shot advantages of 4-3 in the first half and 2-1 in the first OT with the wind. Drury out-shot the Eagles 13-11 overall.
• "We didn't take advantage of our chances in the first half. We fought tooth and nail to get through the second half," Paulino said. "Our legs were just tired. We weren't good enough inside the 18, and they got their opportunity and made the most of it."
• Junior goalkeeper Bri Rogers made five saves for Ashland.