BEMIDJI, Minn. - Goalkeeper Samantha Ross (So., Stillwater, Minn.) had her second-consecutive double-digit save performance, but the University of Mary was able to score on a corner kick in the 71st minute to give the Marauders a 1-0 victory over the Bemidji State University soccer team Sunday afternoon.

Ross recorded 10 saves in the contest, but Jessica Janusz scored off the set play to give her team the win.

The Beavers (9-6-1, 3-6-1 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) had a chance to take an early lead when their leading scorer, Ashlee Ellefsen (So., Hugo, Minn.), got a pass through the defense on a breakway. She ripped a shot from about 15 yards out but the charging goalkeeper was able to deflect the ball away from the net.

Bemidji State played extremely well in the opening half, tying U-Mary in both shots (8) and shots on goal (5). Neither team was able to hit the net despite pressure from both sides of the ball.

The Beavers came out in the second half and did not look like the same team from the opening frame.

The home squad managed just four shots, three coming in the last 20 seconds, and turned the ball over much more frequently than in the first. The Marauders (8-8, 7-2 NSIC) fired 17 shots (six on goal), with two shots that hit the post and the game-winner.

The goal that doomed Bemidji State was scored on one of U-Mary’s five corner kicks (BSU had zero corners in the game). Joanna Drennen took the corner and the ball went to the far side of where the corner was taken, right to the unmarked Janusz, who headed the ball to the far post for what proved to be the game-winner.

If the name Janusz sounds familiar it’s because she has been quite the Beaver killer over the past two years. Last season she had a goal and an assist in the two teams’ first meeting, a 3-0 victory for the Marauders. She didn’t score in BSU’s 2-1 overtime win later in the year, but made her presence felt in the first round of the NSIC Tournament, notching the lone goal off a penalty kick that sent the Beavers home for the season.

The next 20 minutes were frantically played as Bemidji State tried unsuccessfully to notch an equalizer. The best chance came in the last minute when the ball was played deep into Marauder territory. A ball was served into the penalty box that was collected by Ellefsen. She took a shot that hit the post, and then the Beavers retrieved the rebound and scored a goal with two seconds remaining on the clock, only to have the referee call offsides.

The clock hit 00:00, and Bemidji State’s hopes of a postseason berth became quite dim.

Despite an excellent defensive effort, BSU moved to 2-10 all-time against U-Mary and is now 1-5 all-time against the Marauders at home.

The Beavers have probably done too much damage to their record to make the postseason this year, but all is not quite lost as the green and white will hit the field for three more NSIC games. Bemidji State will need wins in all three tilts, starting with a 6:00 p.m. matchup Oct. 24 against the University of Minnesota Duluth. The game will be played in Duluth, Minn., and will be BSU’s second night game of the season.

--bsu--