During regulation, Houghton (15-1-4), the top seed, outshot the No. 2 seed Lady Cougars (11-5-2) 14-4, but MVNU had the better of the opportunities in the two overtime periods as MVNU held a 6-2 advantage in total shots in the extra sessions. For the Lady Cougars, it marked their school-record seventh overtime match of the season in 18 outings.

After the completion of two 10-minute overtime periods with neither team scoring a goal, the action shifted to a shootout to declare the tournament winner. The Highlanders won the coin flip and elected to kick second.

MVNU junior Jessica Estep calmly stepped up and converted her attempt to give the Lady Cougars a 1-0 lead. Amy-Kaye Mitchell followed for Houghton and missed her shot to open the door for MVNU to win the shootout.

Senior midfielder Erin Miller, sophomore forward Camille Smith, and freshman forward Jessica Linger each found the back of the net on their shots for the Lady Cougars, while Keeler Topping, Danielle Turner, and Jennifer Hudson each scored for the Highlanders.

With MVNU leading 4-3, senior defender Mara Hughes buried her shot to give the Lady Cougars a 5-3 advantage and the AMC Tournament title for the first time as the team celebrated a match-ending goal for the second straight day.

"Wow, this game was an amazing one,” said MVNU coach Daniel Seiffert. "It was definitely an extremely hard-fought game between two good teams. Houghton is a very classy team and it is always a pleasure to play them. Right now, the feeling is just so surreal as to what is going on. The girls played their hearts out. It was just all grit, determination, and heart that got us through this game. Our mettle has been tested this year, and it is awesome to see how they have overcome every single challenge that is presented to them.”

MVNU junior goalie Jenessa Loewen stopped six shots in posting the team’s 10th shutout of the season, while Houghton’s Alexa Thayer also stopped six shots as the Highlanders notched their school record-tying 18th shutout of the year as they have allowed just two goals all season.

"The defense did a fantastic job again to keep the shutout,” Seiffert said. "To win the conference tournament in penalty kicks is just so exciting. It was great to have all five players bury their shots. They were calm and collected. Jenessa also did a great job in goal. She got her hands on two of the penalty kicks and really did a good job instinctively to try to stop them.”

With the win, the Lady Cougars clinch their first-ever berth in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round that will take place next Saturday. MVNU will find out who their opponent is and where the match will be played on Sunday evening around 5:00 p.m.

"The girls are so excited about the postseason and the milestones that they keep reaching,” said Seiffert. "They have a lot of confidence right now and seem to be peaking at the right time. We will keep taking everything one game at a time and one practice at a time and play in a way to honor God. We always give God all the praise, glory, and honor because we cannot do this without Him. He is the main reason that we can play this great game of soccer that we love so much.”