Box Score

Rock Island, Ill. - The Wheaton College women's soccer team ended its season with a 0-0 tie vs. Washington (Mo.) University in the NCAA Tournament Sectional Semi-final on Friday. The Bears advanced with a 2-1 advantage in penalty kicks.

The No. 24-ranked Thunder finished with a record of 17-4-2. The No. 17-ranked Bears ran their record to 16-3-2 and take on Calvin College at 6:00 PM on Saturday. The winner of that game will advance to the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, Texas.

The first half belonged to the Thunder as they possessed the ball effectively and put the pressure on Washington's three back defenders. The forwards constantly pressed the action up the field, and Wheaton got its best chance to score at 8:10 when a blast by Ali Kopelman from the top of the box hit the crossbar.

The Bears had their own good chance to score at 18:05. A Washington forward hit a strike from the high right side portion of the box which Wheaton goalkeeper Hillary Barreto saved right on the goal line.

The score stayed knotted at 0-0 heading into the second half as Wheaton continued to create scoring chances. A left-footed roller by Taryne Lee from the top of the box in the 62nd minute just missed the right post by about one foot.

Washington's best scoring chance of the game came a few minutes prior as Julie Tembunkiart collected a corner kick that was punched out and rocketed a shot to the top shelf. But Barreto came through again with a leaping save.

Wheaton stepped up the intensity with a handful of rushes in final six minutes to put Washington on its heels. But the Bears' defenders recovered effectively to alter shots and prevent a goal.

Deceptively high bounces and the lightning-fast field turf on the cold evening led to misjudgments by both teams, which ended up thwarting multiple rushes.

The two overtimes didn't produce a score, so the game ended officially in a tie. A penalty kick shootout would determine which team would move on in the NCAAs. Washington ended up taking the penalty kick advantage 2-1 in the best-of-five format.

The final stats showed Wheaton with a 21-11 advantage in shots. Barreto made three saves in net while Washington goalkeeper Clara Jaques collected nine saves.

Friday marked the final game in the stellar collegiate careers of seniors Taryne Lee, Lauren Anderson and Maria Della Torre. The trio were part of three teams that made the NCAA Championship match, producing two titles. Lee ends her career as the 18th leading career goal scorer in NCAA Division III history with 97 goals. She is also 10th all-time in Division III in career points with 245.