Bemidji State faces Upper Iowa in playoff opener

DULUTH – Sonja Barr set a career high in saves and shots faced, and matched a career-high minutes played on a snowy afternoon in Duluth and helped the Bemidji State University soccer team battle to a 1-1 tie against Minnesota Duluth Sunday.

The Beavers (10-6-2 overall, 8-5-2 NSIC) ended the regular season with 26 NSIC points and finished in sixth place in the league. BSS will travel to Upper Iowa Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the NSIC tournament. The game will begin at 2 p.m.

In the regular season finale against Duluth Barr finished the game with 12 saves, 28 shots faced and played all 110 minutes.

UMD struck in the 18th minute when Maureen Stormont won the ball after it hit the post and placed it in the net just past Barr.

Bemidji State answered just over a minute later when Jess Voeller beat a UMD defender down the sideline and crossed the ball across the six-yard box to Mary O’Brien who shot it past Bulldog goaltender Hannah Iaizzo for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Maria McLeod was also credited with an assist on the play as she started the goal scoring opportunity by winning the ball off a Bulldog defender and passing it to Voeller.

The score remained the same throughout the rest of regulation and a pair of 10-minute overtimes.

BSU was outshot in the game 28-5 while only hitting two shots on goal.
With the tie, Barr is now 8-3-2 on the season.

The draw marks Bemidji States’ fifth overtime game of the season. BSU is now 1-2-2 in games extended beyond 90 minutes.