25 years in the making

Women’s soccer team sneaks into playoffs on the final day of regular season.

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Cole Mayer

Sophomore forward Arendje Louter dribbles the ball in the Piper’s dramitic 1-0 double overtime win over Gustavus.

Josh Dungan, Sports Editor

Eight conference wins in a decade. That’s all Hamline could manage in the first decade of their women’s soccer team. Their play saw them reach no higher than third to last in conference in 2001 and with women’s soccer being one of the few sports in the MIAC to retain a four-team playoff field all the way to 2013, Hamline had been shut out of the playoffs for 24 years running.

With a double overtime win over Gustavus and a little help from Bethel University, the women’s soccer team’s finally broke their playoff drought.

“For Saturday’s game we knew that we still had the potential to make the playoffs with a win,” said senior goalie Amy Ramras. “We also knew it was our last home game of the season and we wanted to go out on a high note, so we were going to give our best.”

Last Saturday’s 1-0 double overtime victory over Gustavus (10-6-2, 6-5 MIAC) gave the team 16 points, which meant with St. Benedict’s (9-6-2, 5-5-1 MIAC) 1-0 loss to St. Olaf (8-7, 5-6 MIAC), the Pipers tied with the Blazers in points. The Pipers’ 3-1 victory over the Blazers on Oct. 22 gave them the head-to-head tiebreaker which meant that the Pipers were just one game away from the playoffs.

That one game was the 7:00 p.m. match between Bethel and Macalester. Bethel, already having claimed their playoff spot, was playing for second place in the MIAC. Macalester was on the outside of the playoff picture looking in with their 14 points putting them in a win-and-in scenario.

Bethel’s game-winning goal came exactly 36 minutes into the first half on a header from sophomore Maggie Sipe, her tenth goal of the season. Bethel held on from there to knock Macalester from the playoffs, secure the number two seed in the playoffs, and give Hamline its first-ever playoff spot.

“I was with teammates watching nearly the whole game,” said junior forward Anna Futterer. “We even all counted down the last five seconds of the game and then erupted with cheering. It’s hard to depend on two other teams for a playoff spot but it was an incredible feeling to know we did what we needed to and earned that spot.”

Hamline needing a win on Saturday was only necessary because of their devastating 0-1 loss to Bethel last Wednesday, Oct. 26, where Hamline was a last-second miraculous save away from tying the game and sending it to overtime.

“The game [last] Wednesday was heartbreaking,” Ramras said. “It was a competitive game that could have gone either way and it was just unfortunate it didn’t go our way.”

Winners of six of their last eight games and allowing just six goals in those eight games, the Pipers head to the playoffs with as much momentum as any team could have in the MIAC.

“This team has been putting in the extra work for years, well before I was a first-year,” said senior defender Mackenzie Zink. “It feels great to continue this legacy and be a part of making playoffs.”

As the sixth seed, the Pipers will face off against third-seed Augsburg, who they lost to 1-2 on Saturday, Oct. 15 at home. With their playoff game being played at Augsburg, the Pipers will have a much less friendly crowd this time around.

“[Augsburg] is a good team that was able to get a win in the last minutes of the game against us last time,” Ramras said. “We are going to come out wanting to get a little revenge. It’s all or nothing.”

Augsburg and Hamline have been going back and forth in the last six seasons, with Augsburg holding a 4-2 record against the Pipers. The Pipers lost to the Auggies last year 0-1 in overtime, lost 0-3 in 2014, won 3-1 in 2013, lost 0-3 in 2012, and won 2-0 in 2011.

“Augsburg was a close game when we played them,” Futterer said. “They only got the win in the eighty-eighth minute and it will be another close game when we play them again.”

Coming into the season, the Pipers were placed tenth in the preseason coaching poll. With Ramras having a record-breaking season in goal, first-year forward Kaley Roberts and sophomore forward Arendje Louter both contributing 23 points and counting goals from ten different players, the Pipers will bring a balanced team into the playoffs that doesn’t rely too much on any one player.

“As heartbreaking as it was to lose to Bethel, which at the time we thought meant that we had been eliminated from the playoffs, I think it reminded us how much we wanted to be in the playoffs,” Zink said. “When we found out there was still a chance for us to get through, Saturday’s game became a second chance for us.”

The Pipers played their first-ever playoff game against Augsburg yesterday at 2:00 p.m. If they won, they play again today at 2:00 p.m. against Bethel in Arden Hills. If they win today, they play Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m. at the field of the higher seed.