ST. LOUIS— [
BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist women's soccer (10-5-3) saw its 13-game unbeaten streak come to an abrupt halt on Friday afternoon at Spartan Field. The No. 8 seeded Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions (Tenn.) (8-8-1) pulled off the upset over the top seeded Spartans to advance to the AMC Semifinals.
Missouri Baptist controlled possession for long stretches of the first half and it looked to be only a matter of time before they broke through in the goal column.
Miranda Pratt had the best chance of the half when she approached the Lady Lions' goal on a semi-breakaway. Her shot was parried away, however, by FHU goalkeeper Erin Douglas.
The Lady Lions didn't manage their first on goal until just under 30 minutes remained in the first half. The issue for MBU was that that shot from FHU midfielder McCall Decker beat Spartan keeper
Jemica Artillaga for the first goal of the game. Out of almost nothing, Missouri Baptist found itself in the rare predicament of playing from behind.
A little over a minute after Decker's goal, the Lady Lions struck again. A long free kick from Melissa Ross in her own territory took a few big bounces over the heads of several players. FHU's Hannah Bilger won a footrace to the back post one-touched the ball past Artillaga. In the blink of an eye, MBU was reeling down 2-0.
The Spartans continued to push forward toward Freed-Hardeman territory but as the minutes ticked off the clock, it became apparent that this day belonged to the visiting Lady Lions. With four minutes left on the clock an MBU cross deflected off multiple bodies and onto the foot of Missouri Baptist's
Nicole Talley. The sophomore's shot ricocheted off the post, however, and the shutout persisted.
The match would finish 2-0 as MBU suffered defeat for the first time since September 1. Freed-Hardeman advances to the AMC semifinals to face the winner of William Woods and Lindenwood-Belleville.
Missouri Baptist will now wait to find out where they will be placed in the NAIA Opening Round on November 17. That announcement will be made on November 12 at 11 am on the NAIA's Facebook page.
