SPRING ARBOR, Mich. - The Marian women's soccer team battled hard, but ultimately came up short in a 1-0 overtime loss to top-seeded Spring Arbor in the Crossroads League Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday night. 

Spring Arbor controlled the first half, creating chances from the opening whistle. The Cougars put together a pair of shots and corner kicks in the first four minutes, before firing one off that hit back netting only to be called offside to keep the score locked at 0-0. Minutes later, Mycheala Johnson deflected a shot put on frame from the hosts, while coming up big again around eight minutes later.

Marian struggled to find an offensive flow in the first 45 minutes, while the Cougars continued to pound on shots. In the final six minutes of the first half, Spring Arbor put up four shots, with three coming close to a score. Offense was hard to come by in the first half for the Knights as they ended with zero shots to the Cougars 11. Although the offense was not firing for Marian, Johnson kept her team in the game with her four saves. 

Marian started off the second half as Katie Koger booted a pair of shots towards goal, but was kept out from the Spring Arbor keeper. The Cougars responded with three on target shots, while Kylie Conrad gave the Knights another good look at the 60:37 mark. The two teams continued to go back and forth with neither being able to find a goal, sending the game into overtime. 

The first half of overtime was all Spring Arbor as they came out on the attack with three quick shots. The Cougars scored on their fourth attempt of the overtime period to take the 1-0 lead, that would hold the remainder of the first half of overtime. Trailing 1-0, Marian needed a goal to keep themselves alive send the game into PK's. Marian Corro Celma gave her team hope in the 107th minute, but Spring Arbor's defense held on and allowed the Knights only one shot in the final 10 minutes of play, giving them the 1-0 victory. 

Spring Arbor outshot Marian 23-4, with the Knights having three shots on frame. The Cougars also led in corner kicks 8-2. In Marian's four shots, Koger led with two, while Conrad and Corro Celma each added one. Johnson made eight saves and allowed one goal in her 110 minutes of action. 

With the loss, Marian falls to 13-3-3 on the season. The Knights will eye an at-large bid in the NAIA Tournament after maintaining a rank at No. 10 in the women's soccer coaches poll earlier today. Marian will also aim to be a host for the sixth consecutive year for the opening rounds of the tournament on November 16 and 18. The field will be announced on Monday, November 13.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.