ST. PAUL, MINN. – In Thursday's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference [UMAC] post-season tournament semifinal contest, the University of Northwestern women's soccer team [No. 1 seed] defeated Northland College [No. 4 seed] in double overtime, 3-2, to advance to the UMAC championship match Saturday on home turf. With the victory, the Eagles improve to 12-6-1 on the season.

Two minutes into the first period, UNW's Maddie Leever (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Christian) buried the first goal of the game, giving the home team an early 1-0 lead. Teammate Anna Martinson (Apple Valley, Minn./Homeschool) helped out in the action, as the senior defender tabbed the assist.

Holding the lead [1-0] at the intermission break, the Eagles held the advantage in shots, 20-1.

At the 67' mark in the second half, the Lumberjills equalized the score, 1-1, scoring off a corner kick opportunity.

With 12 minutes left on the ticker, Anna Welch buried another for the purple and gold to lift the score 2-1 in their favor. Teammate Emily Currie came up big, as she collected the assist off of Welch's goal. Shortly after, NC tied it up once again, sending the contest into overtime play with the score leveled, 2-2.

In the second overtime frame, Emily Goeppinger (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) knocked in the game-winning goal off a penalty kick, allowing the Eagles to soar to a 3-2 double overtime victory over the visiting Lumberjills.

Concluding the mid-day battle, Northwestern totaled 41 shots [25 SOG], which outshined Northland's 10 shots [5 SOG].

UNW's game leaders on the contest were Goeppinger [10S / 4 SOG / 1G], Welch [5S / 4 SOG / 1G], Leever [1S / 1 SOG / 1G], Currie [5S / 2 SOG / 1A], Martinson [3S / 3 SOG / 1A], and Linley Norman (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake) [10S / 7 SOG].

On the defensive end, Goalkeeper Samantha Dewey (Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors) caught three saves on the 110-minute battle, respectively. 

With the win, Northwestern [No. 1 seed] will host the College of St. Scholastica [No . 2 seed] on Saturday, November 4, for a UMAC championship contest with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line. Kickoff at Reynolds Field is slated for 4:30 p.m. For more information, fans should visit www.unweagles.com.