PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Marian women's soccer team saw their 2024 season come to a swift ending on Monday night in the NAIA Tournament Round of 16, as the Knights were upended by No. 5 seed College of Idaho by a 3-2 final score. Marian's season comes to a close with a final record of 17-4-2.

The Knights took control of the first five minutes of the match Monday night, but quickly saw the Yotes run their offense and gain rhythm on their offensive end of the pitch. In the 11th minute, College of Idaho ripped their third shot of the match, with the blast from Eden Makaafi racing past Mycheala Johnson to net the contests' first score. The Yotes would continue to run possession as they earned three quick corner kicks in the moments after the goal, but felt the pressure from Marian moments later as Naomi Walters took the team's second attempt in the 18th minute.

Walters' would take another shot on goal in the 24th minute, but was unable to find the equalizer, as the score remained in favor of COI. Marian would gain control of possession in the final minutes of the half after a battle in the midfield, and got a pair of corner kicks from Lizzi Chlystun in the final five minutes that set up a pair of shots for Gretchen Mallin. Mallin took two shots from in front of the goal, but saw both attempts get blocked by the backline of the Yotes defense, ending the half in a 1-0 deficit.

Both teams took five shot attempts in the first half, and were near identical in corner kicks, with the Yotes taking one less than the Knights.

Marian came out aggressive in the first minutes of the second half, finding a pair of scores early in the period. Katie Koger led the half with with a shot high of the crossbar, while the Knights drew a penalty kick in the 51st minute. Layla Brown took the close range shot and was denied on her look, but Marian stuck with the ball, getting the ball back in front of the net for Sammie King, who pushed across the tying goal in the 51st minute. No less than 50 seconds later, Marian found the lead, as Layla Brown slammed home a goal after getting fed from midfield by Naomi Walters. 

Brown's goal gave Marian a 2-1 lead, but the goal was quickly matched by the Yotes' Eden Makaafi, who scored her second goal of the night in the 54th minute to push the game back to a draw. Gretchen Mallin would pick up two yellow cards for hard tackles in the 10 minutes following the second COI goal, putting Marian at a disadvantage as they were forced to play the final 27 minutes down a player. College of Idaho took advantage of the extra-man lead on the pitch, as Eden Makaafi completed a hat trick in the 66th minute to give the Yotes a 3-2 lead. 

Marian would battle over the final 24 minutes of the contest, but would manage only one shot attempt in their short-handed rally, eventually falling in the contest 3-2. 

Walters and Brown led the Knights in shot attempts with three each in their final collegiate matches, while Brown scored her 19th goal of the season. King scored on her only shot attempt, and Katie Koger and Gretchen Mallin had the other three shots. In goal, Johnson fell to 12-4-1 overall on the season, allowing three goals against three saves in the season finale. 

Marian ends their season with a final record of 17-4-2, reaching the NAIA Tournament for the sixth consecutive season, while returning to the NAIA Final Site for the first time in two seasons. 

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