Bruins deliver penalty heartache to Eagles in MCAC Final

OMAHA, Neb. - Senior keeper Scott Robertson (Burnley, England) made saves on consecutive penalty kicks to allow sophomore Lee Woolmore (, England) to close out the match with his penalty conversion in the eighth round following a 2-2 double overtime draw against Oklahoma Wesleyan University in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Friday afternoon at Tranquility Park. It took 110 minutes and eight rounds of penalties for a victor to be decided with Bellevue claiming a 6-5 edge in penalties.

Bellevue (14-2-2), ranked No. 18 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, is now undefeated against Oklahoma Wesleyan in the last three matches the schools have played, dating back to last year's MCAC Championship.

Junior Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) converted a penalty kick in the 86^th minute to force extra time after a great effort in the box by MCAC Freshman of the Year Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) earned the penalty opportunity. Smith was hauled down just outside of the six-yard box and the referee wasted no time in pointing to the penalty spot. Maertzke stepped up to the stripe and delivered a powerful blast to the upper left corner as keeper Luka Stojanovic guessed upper right to pull Bellevue back on terms at 2-2.

Each team had an early chance in the opening 45 minutes. Senior First Team All-MCAC pick Manuel Lira (Guadalajara, Mexico) flicked fellow First Teamer junior Alan Carr's (Lincolnshire, England) free kick from 40 yards on goal but a great read by Stojanovic allowed him to push the ball over the cross bar.

In the 22^nd minute Ivan Ristic took a free kick from just inside of 30 yards which Robertson scooped up along the ground.

Oklahoma Wesleyan struck first in each period with Ristic scoring his ninth goal in the 33^rd minute and Jack McGowan finding the back of the net in the 52^nd minute for his 14^th goals of the year.

Ristic's strike came off of a set piece in the 33^rd minute as he bent a shot low and hard around the Bruin wall and into the net before Robertson could see it and react.

Lira leveled things in the 44^th minute with his ninth goal of the campaign. Lira used his elite speed to intercept a back pass meant for Stojanovic and evade the diving keeper. His first attempt was on target but a sliding save by a defender kept the ball from the back of the net. Lira collected the rebound and didn't miss with his second chance putting home a hard shot which the defense never had a chance against.

McGowan struck shortly after the half-time interval after taking a leading pass from Aleksander Simovic. He settled the ball briefly and sent a low shot on goal that Robertson was able to get a hand on but he was unable to redirect it enough to keep it from goal and the Eagles reclaimed their one goal lead.

Shortly before Maertzke scored his game-tying goal, junior Second Team All-MCAC selection Jamie Henderson (Lincolnshire, England) had a wide open shot inside the 18-yard box but just mis-hit on his strike as Stojanovic wrapped it up into his body.

After Maertzke's penalty kick goal both sides seemed contend to head to extra time. The first extra session saw very little in the way of offense with neither team able to generate a shot while the second seemingly followed a similar script with each team garnering just one shot, but not able to put it on goal.

The match proceeded to a penalty shootout where each side made their first attempt, missed their second, and made their next two to set up the dramatics. A conversion by Simovic on the fifth attempt forced a make-or-break attempt for senior Kristopher McFadyen (Glasgow, Scotland) who found the back of the next to force additional tie-breakers. Each team hit on their sixth attempt.

Luka Milicevic was the first Eagle to taste the bitter disappointment doled out by Robertson as his shot was saved by the diving keeper to give Smith a chance to win the match. Smith stepped up to the spot and delivered a cracking blow but his attempt caromed off the cross bar to breathe new life into a deflated Eagle squad.

McGowan, looking to put OKWU ahead once more, strode to the spot to take the next attempt but he, too, was stonewalled by a once-again diving Robertson. Woolmore came to take his try which was delivered low and hard to the bench side of the pitch where the Bellevue bench erupted when it rippled the back of the net.

The chippy affair on a frigid afternoon saw a total of 22 fouls called (12 against Bellevue, 10 against Oklahoma Wesleyan) and nine yellow cards issued (6 against Oklahoma Wesleyan and 3 against Bellevue). The home-standing Bruins out-shot the Eagles 18-16 but gave up a 9-7 edge in shots on goal. Corner kicks were a virtual dead heat with Oklahoma Wesleyan claiming eight and Bellevue earning seven.

The Bruins, by virtue of their victory, have secured the MCAC's lone automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament which begins next weekend with Opening Round matches. No. 19 Oklahoma Wesleyan (14-4-2) will have to wait to see if they're fortunate to garner one of the at-large bids to the NAIA National Tournament.