ABILENE, Texas – McMurry's women's soccer season was on the line Tuesday night in Abilene – and the War Hawks rose to the occasion by advancing to the semifinal round of the American Southwest Conference tournament.
With a scoreless draw after two overtime periods against No. 5 seed Howard Payne, the No. 4 War Hawks went to penalty kicks and swept their way to a 4-1 win. Senior Brianna Monroe made the final penalty kick goal to clinch it.
Tonight's game marked the first time McMurry ever had a match decided by PKs.
With the win, McMurry moves on to the ASC semifinals to play No. 1 Hardin-Simmons on Friday. McM improves to a 12-4-3 overall record, while Howard Payne ends its season at 11-6-1 overall.
On a chilly, damp and windy Tuesday night, both teams stepped up defensively to force a scoreless draw through regulation. Neither team broke through in overtime, with McMurry taking the lone shot of the extra frames.
In penalty kicks, McMurry got things started with McKenna Standifer booting one in for the first point. The War Hawks then subbed in Priscella Caruso at goalkeeper, taking over for Cortlynn Boone after 110 shutout minutes. HPU's Addison Buesing was unable to score on her, missing high.
McMurry extended its PK lead to 2-0 with a made shot by Ashland Hansen, but was answered by HPU's Kendra Cecil to make it 2-1. Ashland's twin, Tagan Hansen, gave McMurry another tally to put the pressure on at 3-1.
HPU turned to Addie Carroll for their next kick, but she was denied by Caruso, diving to her right for the save. This summoned McMurry's senior goalkeeper Brianna Monroe to the penalty box – but not to make a save.
With a chance to clinch the match, Monroe took the final shot and guided it left for the victory.
The War Hawks finished with a 17-4 shot advantage, but were only able to put five on target. Meanwhile, HPU had three of its four shots on target. Both goalkeepers had their share of work, with Cortlynn Boone of McM and Delaney Castor of HPU making three saves each. HPU also had two team saves.
McMurry also took 10 corner kicks, but the HPU defense smothered all opportunities. HPU finished with just two – both in the first half.
Senior Hallie Rutherford had a game-high four shots with two on target, playing 100 minutes at forward. Both Hansen twins, Standifer, Boone and senior Meriah Sikora all went wire-to-wire with 110 minutes each. HPU had eight players go the distance.
The War Hawks advance to the semifinal round for the second time in program history. The first time was in 2019, where McMurry fell to Hardin-Simmons on a late penalty kick goal. The War Hawks atoned that loss in the regular season finale this season, defeating HSU for the first time in program history with a 1-0 shutout.
The War Hawks and Cowgirls kick off Friday at 5 p.m. at the HSU Soccer Complex. The winner will face either No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor or No. 3 Concordia Texas in Sunday's championship final.
