11/06/06

It was the only shot on goal in 62 minutes of action, and it took two heads before it would finally sneak under the cross bar, but with Andrea Lund's flick into the top of the net, Minnesota-Morris claimed their third consecutive UMAC post-season tournament title, dealing St. Scholastica a wicked blow to their hopes of earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The thrilling and tense game wasn't without it's scoring opportunities, many belonging to the Saints who outshot the Cougars 13 to 6 in the title match. The problem for St. Scholastica was that only one of their shots got on goal, the others sailing high, just wide, were blocked, or even the Shannon Kresky shot 10 minutes into the second period that hit the right post.

Tournament MVP Stephanie Clark had one of the Cougars' two shots on goal that came in the first half -- their only shots on frame until the winning goal -- but it was her head not her feet that helped win the day for her team.

With only 2:22 remaining in the second OT period, Maddy Gerber dropped a corner kick from the right side into the center of the box where Clark was able to get a head on it to keep the scoring chance alive. With Saints keeper Kelly Momsen back on the ground after going up with Clark, Lund tried a quick flick with her head that shot the ball up and over Momsen and into the top netting of the goal, ending the second marathon game of the day.

Morris finished second to the Saints in the regular season and lost both in-season contests to their championship final opponent. But today was their day as they conclude their 2006 campaign with a 17-3-1 record and UMAC title.

St. Scholastica (18-3-1) still harbors hopes for a post-season NCAA bid after the loss, but perhaps the UMAC now has two teams in line for NCAA tournament consideration.