Neither team was able to muster much of a scoring threat over the first 39 minutes of the match. Then, in the 40th minute, Ally Hall put the Mustangs (13-8-0) on the scoreboard when she gathered a loose ball in the box and put it home to put The Master’s in front 1-0 with her third goal of the year.

Less than three minutes later, the Lady Cougars (14-8-1) equalized at 1-1 when junior defender Mara Hughes (left) converted a penalty kick opportunity as the result of an MVNU player being fouled inside box. The goal was the sixth of the season for Hughes.

The score remained that way until the 62nd minute when Emily Bruton of The Master’s took a pass from Robyn Estrada and found the back of the net to put the Mustang’s on top 2-1. The goal was Bruton’s seventh of the year.

The Lady Cougars had several opportunities to knot the score, but each time the defense of The Master’s was up to the task and came away with a stop. MVNU battled all the way to the end with two corner kicks in the final four minutes as the Lady Cougars would not give up.

Then, with just 35 seconds remaining, Estrada received a pass from Andie Reyes and closed out the scoring in the 3-1 match with a goal - her team-leading 11th goal of the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen registered four saves in goal for MVNU, while Maria Loza stopped three shots for the Mustangs. The Master’s posted a 17-8 advantage in total shots including 12-3 in the second half and a 7-5 edge in shots on goal.

“We played hard tonight and I am proud of the effort that the girls put forth,” said MVNU coach Jonathan Meade. “(The Master’s) is a really good team and they possessed the ball much than we did. Mara was outstanding in the back, and Page (Miller) played hard and was everywhere. Obviously, we are disappointed that we lost, but we can truthfully say that we gave it our all.”

The Lady Cougars will return to action at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday when MVNU will take on No. 8 seed Colorado Christian University in the consolation bracket. Colorado Christian fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 1 seed Spring Arbor (Mich.) University. No. 2 seed Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) University downed No. 7 seed Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) University 2-0 and No. 3 seed Trinity International (Ill.) University defeated Asbury (Ky.) College 6-1.