College Sports
Bullis comes off the bench to lift Mavs
Senior scores one of MSU's shootout goals in win over University of Mary
MANKATO — For nearly two hours, Minnesota State senior Natalie Bullis tried to stay warm inside a parka on the sidelines and watched her teammates battle the University of Mary in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference soccer tournament game at The Pitch.
When the second overtime period expired, the teams were still in a scoreless deadlock and head coach Peter McGahey had to decide which five players he was going to use in the deciding shootout. He looked at Bullis and told her she was in.
“I was a little surprised when he picked me,” Bullis said. “I hadn’t touched the ball the whole game. Even though he told me to warm up a few minutes ahead of time, I didn’t think he was going to put me in.”
With the shootout tied at 1-1 after three shooters, Bullis approached the ball calmly and booted it past goalie Carly Feiler into the right side of the net. Mary’s Joanna Drennen tied it up a minute later, but MSU’s Laura Leber took the final kick and won it for the Mavericks 3-2.
The game officially ends in a 0-0 tie, but Minnesota State advances to the next round of the tournament by winning the shootout.
“I new I’d be kicking it to the goalie’s left,” Bullis said. “I kick the same way every time.”
McGahey said he picked Bullis to participate for a number of reasons.
“Putting together a shootout is part science and part art,” McGahey said. “You want players who are composed under pressure, you want good ball strikers and it’s nice to have some experience, too.
“Nat has played in postseason games and taken a number of penalty kicks, so this is nothing new to her. It turned out to be a good choice.”
Minnesota State carried the play for most of Wednesday’s game but never put any serious pressure on Feiler until the final 25 minutes of regulation. The Mavericks had about four quality scoring chances down the stretch but Feiler rebuffed each of them.
The game was more evenly-played in the two 10-minute overtimes, before MSU finally decided it in the shootout. Leber said she never experienced a hint of nervousness before taking her decisive shot.
“I love situations like that, I thrive on that kind of pressure,” she said. “When the weight of the game is on my shoulders, that’s when I’m at my best.”
The Mavericks finished with 13 shots on goal to Mary’s 3. Winning keeper Sheila Reynolds was credited with the shutout — her eight of the season and the 20th of her career.
Minnesota State (13-3-1) now awaits the outcome of Wednesday’s late games to determine where and when it will play in Friday’s semifinals.
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