Mount Marty University

HISTORIC COMEBACK: LANCERS ERASE TWO-GOAL DEFICIT TO WIN GPAC QUARTERFINAL THRILLER OVER BRIAR CLIFF

YANKTON, S.D. — The Mount Marty University women's soccer team added another unforgettable chapter to its record-setting season on Tuesday evening, staging a heroic comeback to defeat Briar Cliff University 3–2 in the quarterfinal round of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Postseason Tournament at Crane Youngworth Stadium.

Playing in the program's first-ever home GPAC tournament match, the No. 4-seeded Lancers (10–3–4, 7–3–1 GPAC) rallied from a 2–0 first-half deficit before forward Rhyli Grim delivered the match-winner in the 87th minute to secure Mount Marty's 10th win of the campaign and advance to the GPAC semifinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• 14' (BCU 1, MMU 0) — Fifth-seeded Briar Cliff struck first in the 14th minute when Angelina Saade finished off a pass from Carlota Crespo to give the Chargers an early lead.

• 33' (BCU 2, MMU 0) — The Chargers doubled their advantage midway through the opening period as Elena Ochoa converted a setup from Libby Fraser in the 33rd minute to put Mount Marty in a 2–0 hole.

• 43' (BCU 2, MMU 1) — Mount Marty sparked its comeback late in the first half with two goals in a 37-second span. Fullback Liz Stordahl got the Lancers on the board in the 43rd minute, capitalizing on an assist from Alexia Valdez to make it 2–1.

• 44' (BCU 2, MMU 2) — Just 37 seconds later, center back Val Ruiz found the back of the net off a feed from Rhyli Grim to level the match at 2–2 heading into the halftime break.

• 87' (MMU 3, BCU 2) — With extra time looming, Luz Rojas-Martinez set up Grim in the 87th minute, and the junior forward buried her team-leading eighth goal of the season to send Crane Youngworth Stadium into a frenzy and lock down the 3–2 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE Mount Marty put on a dominant offensive display across 90 minutes, outshooting Briar Cliff 22–7 overall and putting 13 shots on frame compared to four for the Chargers. The Lancers unleashed 16 of their 22 shot attempts during a relentless first-half attack and held a 3–1 edge in corner kicks.

Goalkeeper McKenzie Terp earned the victory in net for Mount Marty, turning away two shots on target. Briar Cliff netminder Caitlin Anderholm made nine saves on 12 shots faced, while the Chargers added a team save under constant Lancer pressure.

LANCER LEADERS

• Rhyli Grim: Delivered a star performance with two points on the night, providing the assist on Ruiz's equalizer before netting the match-winning goal in the 87th minute on eight total shots (five on target).

• Liz Stordahl & Val Ruiz: Sparked the rapid first-half turnaround with goals less than a minute apart to swing the momentum back to Mount Marty.

• Alexia Valdez & Luz Rojas-Martinez: Masterminded attacking movements from midfield, each recording an assist on Mount Marty's comeback strikes.

UP NEXT With the quarterfinal victory, Mount Marty advances to the GPAC Postseason Tournament Semifinals on Saturday, November 7, where the Lancers will continue their historic postseason run on the road against top-seeded Hastings College. This is the second year in a row the Lancers have made it to the GPAC Tournament Semifinals.