BELMONT, Calif.- The Eagles hustled with the Argonauts to end in a draw for the final regular season game.

This game for the women's soccer team was another chance to beef up their resume for a potential spot in the playoffs.  With the game ending in a draw, 2-2, the CUI women's soccer team will wait it out to see if they made the cut to further their 2019 season. 

This game was aggressive on both ends as there were two yellow cards on NDNU and one yellow card on CUI.  The intensity of the game lasted the full 110 minutes as they had to go into overtime.  

NDNU was able to secure a goal first with 30 minutes left in the half.  It did not take much time for Marianna Maldonado to heat up and knock the ball into the net from the top of the 18.  Maldonado received the ball from Analisa Gjonovich who dribbled the ball down and released the ball with perfect timing.  The game stayed tied at 1-1 for almost the remainder of the half until a foul occurred in the box by CUI.  A penalty kick was set up and it was successful for NDNU.  This made the score 1-2 going into halftime.

The second half was a battle to score as CUI took eight shots.  Time was running out as CUI was struggling to finish through with their shots.  Then with eight minutes left in the second half Maldonado strikes again.  Molly Melanson took a free kick that landed right at the top of the 18.  Maldonado in her sweet spot of the game shot the ball into the top left of the goal scoring her seventh goal of the season; just in time to tie up this match and send the game into overtime.

In overtime the Eagles outshot NDNU eight to zero.  Unfortunately, none of the shots were able to connect and earn a goal for the Eagles, resulting in a tie.
Maldonado really stepped up these last three games where she scored four out of her seven goals for the season.

"I think just trying to anticipate where the ball is going next has always helped me," stated Maldonado. "Also, just the pure fact that I am playing for my team, something that has always been greater than myself, has been the motive for scoring."

Maldonado a very selfless player who works hard every game was assisted by another very selfless player which was Melanson.  Melanson has been a strong factor for the defensive line as she hustles after every ball and often wins it for the Eagles and was also a factor for the offensive side against NDNU.

"We fought really hard defensively as they had a really fast front line," said Melanson. "But especially in the second half we found our rhythm and were able to completely shut the game down. The game presented a lot of free kicks and one of them I was able to send into the box and Mari was there to finish it."

With regular season finished up, stay tuned to see if your CUI women's soccer team will have a shot in the playoffs!  For the full schedule click here.