Foley, Ala. - The Marian women's soccer team opened the NAIA Quarterfinals with a thrilling victory over No. 4 Martin Methodist, rallying back from a two-goal first half deficit to earn a 4-3 win. Erin Oleksak scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute, improving Marian to 21-2 overall this season. 

Marian got the first two shots on goal of the game in the opening 10 minutes of play, with Chloe Ulmer and Erin Oleksak each challenging Gabby Kennedy with looks on frame, but Kennedy made saves on both attempts. The Redhawks turned the favor on the Knights after their early attack with Estelle Badoedana Ekada firing twice on goal, but with each attempt sailing wide. Martin Methodist continued to maintain possession, and in the 13th minute Ekada took a shot that was partially deflected, but still had enough strength to get past Alexis Patenaude for the game's first goal. Six minutes later, the Redhawks netted their second goal when Abbie Madden slipped the game's seventh shot into the net. 

Trailing 2-0, the Knights regrounped and got into an offensive rhythm in the final 20 minutes of the first half, stringing together stronger offensive runs. In the 35th minute Naomi Walters broke free and had a shot on goal, but Kennedy again came up with a save. Kennedy denied Marian of a scoring chance twice in a four-second window 90 seconds after Walters' shot, making key saves on a pair of strikes from Oleksak. In the final minute, the Knights made one final push, and finally broke through on the scoreboard with Oleksak draining her fourth shot attempt of the half. Oleksak's 20th goal of the season came with 42 seconds remaining in the half, and cut Marian's deficit in half as the game reached intermission. 

With the momentum shifting to Marian, the Knights attacked right away to start the second half, with Oleksak firing a shot 86 seconds after the restart. Marian kept the ball in Redhawk territory, and Allie Schlom fired a cross into the box for Ulmer, with the senior heading in the equalizer in the 48th minute to tie the game at 2-2. The game remained a draw for 18 minutes after Ulmer's goal, with Noelle Rolfsen making a save to deny one of the three Martin Methodist shots, while a pair of free kicks from the Knights missed just over the crossbar. 

In the 66th minute, Martin Methodist recaptured the momentum, as Ekada buried a shot just under the crossbar and over the outstretched arms of Rolfsen, putting the fourth ranked team back on top 3-2. Marian immediatley went back on the offensive with Oleksak firing a shot on net, but Kennedy made the save on her 68th minute shot. The Knights continued to press, and in the 78th minute brought the game back to a tie. A Natalie Prena shot richocheted out of play setting up a Marian corner play. Siera Stuart struck a perfect corner on the net, and left it perfectly for Sydney Genatempo, who headed in the tying goal bringing the score to 3-3. 

The Knights gave one final surge aiming to win the match in regulation, and in the 84th minute the pair of two sport-athletes connected for the final goal, as Walters played a ball ahead for Oleksak, who won the one-on-one matchup to give Marian the lead. Oleksak's 21st goal of the season stood as the final score of the game, as Marian locked down the Martin Methodist offense with strong defensive play to seal the 4-3 NAIA Quarterfinal victory. 

Marian led for the final 6:57 of the match, which was Marian's only lead of the game. Marian took 20 shots in the win, and were led by Oleksak who scored two goals on her eight shots. Oleksak's brace was the sixth of her career, and second of the postseason. Ulmer scored one goal on three shots, and Genatempo's header was her lone shot of the match. In goal, Rolfsen recorded the win playing in the second half, making four saves while allowing one goal. Patenaude made two saves in her first half action. 

With the win, the Knights advanced to the NAIA Semifinals on Saturday night at 5 p.m., where Marian will take on No. 1 William Carey. The match will be re-match of the 2019 NAIA Semifinal game, in which Marian won 5-4 on penalty kicks with Delanie Hill scoring the winning shot. 

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