Warriors Come Up Short in Regular Season Finale

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University took the turf at Heedum Field one last time this season as it hosted Culver-Stockton College on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors battled back from a four-goal halftime deficit in the second half but were held off by the Wildcats, 10-9.

Midland opened the scoring when Chloe Harrison found the net, unassisted, just 93 seconds into the contest. However, the Wildcats got on the board and took a lead that they would not relinquish later in the quarter. Culver-Stockton's top goal-scorer on the year, Kaelin Quarles tied the game at 1-1, with 7:04 left in the first. Then the Wildcats took the lead for good, with 2:47 remaining in the quarter as Lauren Grebing scored off a Quarles' assist, to make it 2-1. The Wildcats took the one-goal advantage into the quarter break.

In the second quarter, Aaliyah Ortiz added to the Wildcats' lead, scoring with 10:33 left in the half, off a Karson Jackson assist, to make it 3-1. Madilynn Edwards responded for Midland as she scored off a Harrison assist, to make it 3-2, with 5:31 left in the second quarter. Culver-Stockton came right back and scored 26 seconds later, when Quarles scored her second goal of the game, making it 4-2, in favor of the Wildcats. The Warriors cut the lead in half, as Harrison scored off a free position shot, to make it 4-3, with 4:02 to go before halftime. However, that would be the final Midland tally before the break.

Culver-Stockton found the back of the net three more times before intermission. Quarles scored her third goal of the game, unassisted, with 2:40 remaining. Thirty-two seconds later, Grebing netted her second goal of the day, off a Quarles assist, to make it 6-3. Quarles found the back of the net for the fourth time to make it 7-3, which would stand at the break.

The Warriors came out of the locker room strong to begin the third quarter. Madigan Marusiak scored off an Edwards assist to make it 7-4, with 11:19 remaining in the third. Then, with 5:56 left in the third Alexis Marshall scored off an Edwards assist to make it 7-5. The Warriors pulled within a goal with 3:03 left in the quarter when Edwards scored off a Marshall assist, to make it 7-6. The Wildcats scored their lone goal of the quarter with 2:27 remaining when Quarles scored her fifth goal of the day, assisted by Grebing, to make it 8-6, going into the final quarter break.

Quarles scored her sixth goal of the afternoon with 10:14 remaining in the game. The tally came off a Bella Olson assist making it 9-6. The Warriors' first score of the quarter came with 5:39 left, when Harrison scored unassisted, to make it 9-7. With 3:16 left, Culver-Stockton scored what turned out to be the game-winning tally when Grebing scored off a Quarles assist, making it 10-7. In the game's final minutes, Midland's Annika Turner tried to single-handedly bring the Warriors back. With 2:47 to play, Turner scored to make it 10-8. Then, with 1:04 to play, Turner scored again, making it 10-9. However, the Warrior rally came up short, as Culver-Stockton ran out the clock, and the Wildcats recorded the victory, 10-9.

Culver-Stockton was led in scoring by Kaelin Quarles. The freshman scored six goals and had three assists. Lauren Grebing recorded three goals and an assist. Wildcat goalie Jillian Vervynck recorded five saves on the afternoon.

Midland got three goals and an assist from Chloe Harrison. Madilynn Edwards had two goals and two assists. Annika Turner scored both of her goals in the last three minutes of the game. Christina Myers had nine saves on the day.

The Warriors won the ground ball battle on the day, 50-39.

Midland (3-9, 1-3 KCAC) has wrapped up its regular season and will await the pairings of the KCAC Tournament. The action takes place on April 18 and 20 in St. Louis, Missouri.