Minneapolis, Minn. – The Crown women's soccer team just missed out on a trip to the NCCAA National Championships on Saturday, losing out in a penalty shootout in the North Region final hosted by fellow UMAC member North Central.  The Polars finish the season with a 7-10-4 record and the first UMAC postseason berth in program history. 

The two sides reach full time deadlocked at 0-0 and entered into two ten-minute extra time periods to try to determine a winner.

It looked as though the Providence University Pilots had claimed that honor, scoring in the 97^th minute to take a 1-0 lead, but the Polars clawed their way back into contention.

With less than two minutes remaining in the second extra period, Emma Bjurstrom's ball into the box found Emma Domka who in turn found the far corner to draw the Polars level in the 109^th minute!

The 1-1 score would hold for the final 1:41 of extra time and the two teams would decide the region title on penalty kicks.

Emma Domka stepped up and powered her shot in before the lights went out, quite literally. 

The lights in Elliot Park went out and the entire pitch went dark, delaying the proceedings and heaping even more pressure on the players as the two teams waited for the lights to come back on. 

When play continued, the Pilots scored to get the shootout to 1-1.  Ashley Pierce then made it 2-1 in favor of the Polars, but the Pilots quickly leveled again. 

The next two Polars saw their penalty kicks fail, one flew over the bar and the other was saved, and Providence converted their kicks to advance 4-2.

The match technically goes down as a draw, with the winner of the shootout advancing on penalty kicks, but the result is the same for the Polars, the end of their season.

Despite the disappointment of the shootout loss, the Polars can look back on a successful season in which the team accomplished things no other Crown women's soccer team has. With no seniors on the squad, the future is indeed very bright.