(Evans, GA) –Waubonsee Community College's women's soccer team suffered a heart-breaking loss in their opening round match at the 2021 NJCAA Division II National Tournament. The eighth-seeded Chiefs lost to 12^th seeded Muskegon (MI) Community College on penalty kicks 4-3. The hard fought match was tied 2-all at the end of regulation and remained that way after two scoreless overtime periods. Waubonsee is scheduled to play again tomorrow in Pool A action against top-seeded, top-ranked and undefeated Phoenix (AZ) College (11-0) beginning at 11:00 a.m. (CDT). The match can be seen 'live' on a pay-per-view basis at www.NJCAA.org/network.  

The 12^th ranked Chiefs (10-1-2) and 18^th ranked Jayhawks (9-2-1) took to the pitch at Blanchard Woods Park northwest of Augusta, Georgia on a humid morning with temperatures in the upper 80's. In the end those conditions likely played a part in the outcome. Muskegon, with a full compliment of 22 players, was able to substitute liberally throughout the match while the Chiefs utilized just 13 players.

In the opening 10 minutes of the match the Chiefs managed a pair of shots on goal, but could not score. Muskegon broke the scoreless tie in the 24^th minute off of a corner kick as the Jayhawks' Sammy Hecht curled a left-footed shot toward the front of the goal. In the midst of a crowd of players Muskegon's Alexis Bolles went up and headed the ball into the right corner of the net for the game's first goal.  

After a mandatory hydration break for both teams a minute later, Waubonsee's Olivia McPherson had a prime scoring opportunity in the 27^th minute. The freshman out raced two defenders to the ball and got off a shot on the run from 18 yards out. However, Muskegon keeper Rachel Wienclaw made a sliding deflection causing McPherson's shot to bounce wide right of the goal. Exactly a minute later McPherson's twin sister Kiara knotted the score when she lofted a shot from 30 yards out that sailed over Wienclaw's head and out of her reach as it settled into the upper right corner of the goal.

Waubonsee then took the lead in the 32^nd minute when Eliana Zagoren blasted a shot from 25 yards out on the right side of the field. A diving Wienclaw was able to knock the shot down, but it bounded away from her as she tried to scramble to her feet. Olivia McPherson immediately tapped the rebound into the left corner of the goal from five yards out for her 25th goal of the season to put the Chiefs in front 2-1. The Jayhawks almost tied the match in the 39^th minute, but Chiefs' keeper Daisy Quinonez made a diving deflection and then blocked the point blank rebound shot to allow Waubonsee to maintain a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission.

The Chiefs controlled most of the action over the initial 20 minutes of the second half with the ball primarily residing on the Jayhawks' end of the field. Unfortunately, Waubonsee was not able to tack on a third goal despite a couple great chances to do so. Yari Aguado was knocked down just outside the 18-yard box in the 55^th minute, but Olivia McPherson's ensuing free kick sailed over the top of the cross bar. In the 68^th minute Kiara McPherson made a great move dribbling around a Muskegon defender to get into position to get off a clear shot. However, her shot from 15 yards out sailed wide right of the goal. Another mandatory 5-minute hydration break was held at the 70^th minute as both teams prepared for the last part of regulation play.   

Time and again the Chiefs' defense of Rachel Polignone, Ashley Bailey, Lindsay Ferris and Bailey Prichard had risen to the occasion to limit the Jayhawks' scoring opportunities throughout the second half. Eventually though the heat and humidity appeared to take its toll on the weary Chiefs over the final 20 minutes of play as the Jayhawks began to penetrate Waubonsee's defense more frequently. In the 71^st minute Quinonez was able to deflect a close-in Muskegon header up and over the cross bar before the Chiefs then cleared the ensuing corner kick. A minute later Waubonsee's keeper made another diving stop on a shot from 20 yards away to keep the Chiefs in front. Muskegon finally broke through in the 83^rd minute when Kendall Jones beat Bailey to the ball and drilled a shot into the upper left corner of the net from 17 yards out to tie the game.

Neither team threatened to score in the final minutes of regulation sending the match into sudden death overtime. A defensive stalemate ensued resulting in two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods. The best opportunity to score for either team came with just 0:30 remaining in the second extra session when the Chiefs were called for a foul approximately five yards outside of the 18-yard box. The Jayhawk's free kick sailed harmlessly over the top of the cross bar to send the game to penalty kicks.

Waubonsee lost the coin toss and had to go first for the alternating penalty kicks. Bailey was successful finding the right corner while Wienclaw dove in the opposite direction. Bolles duplicated that effort as Quinonez also guessed the wrong direction to even things at one apiece. The Chiefs' Katie Jones then booted a laser into the left corner and Muskegon's Hecht followed suit with a shot that also found the left corner of the net to knot things back up. A moment later Aguado's kick went just over the top of the cross bar to open the door for the Jayhawks. As she had done on several occasions Quinonez came up big by diving to her right to stop Nora Brown's penalty kick and maintain the tie.

Ferris then gave the Chiefs a 3-2 advantage when she chipped a shot into the right corner out of the reach of Wienclaw. Muskegon's Ellie Adams also drilled her shot to the right side where it bounced into the net after a diving Quinonez partially deflected it. Olivia McPherson then smacked a shot to the left side that Wienclaw was able to block and set the stage for the decisive penalty kick. The Jayhawks' Alexa Musk then delivered the game-winning kick sneaking a shot under the out stretched arms of a diving Quinonez and into the right corner of the net.

For the match Waubonsee out shot Muskegon 21-16 with 10 shots on goal compared to eight for the Jayhawks. Quinonez was credited with six saves overall, while Wienclaw registered eight saves. The Chiefs committed 13 fouls to 11 infractions for the Jayhawks.