The University of Mary Washington women's soccer's team's storied postseason run finally came to a close on Sunday afternoon in Middlebury, VT as the Eagles fell with a minute left in overtime, 1-0, to No. 3 Tufts.

The Eagles battled the NESCAC champion Jumbos for 98 minutes scoreless in the national quarterfinals -- proving that they belong with some of the country's best soccer teams after advancing past a pair of ranked opponents during their postseason run. They beat No. 20 Vassar in the opening round and then advanced on penalty kicks against No. 10 Williams in the second round -- who fell to Tufts in the NESCAC championship -- and then took down Penn State-Harrisburg in the Sweet Sixteen yesterday afternoon.

On Sunday, though, the Jumbos were able to sneak a goal in the 99th minute past the Eagles' backline and keeper. They were able to continue the pressure offensive pressure all game -- particularly in the second half -- as the Jumbos out-shot UMW, 22-13, and held an advantage in corner kicks, 8-2.

But the Eagles played well all game -- making the Jumbos defense uncomfortable, putting six shots on net. Maci Landel led the way with four shots, while Madison Bauserman and Ellen Shine recorded three each. In the first half, UMW keeper Emily Orn came away with a pair of diving saves as well as one in the second half that kept Tufts off of the scoreboard as UMW out-shot the Jumbos, 8-6, in the first half.. In all, Orn came away with six saves, holding the Jumbos off of the scoreboard as long as she could.

The season itself was a success to say the least. The Eagles were picked second in the Coast-to-Coast Conference preseason poll, exceeding expectations by season's end. For the first time since 2019, UMW took down Christopher Newport, handing the Captains their first regular season loss since that same season. They posted 16 shutouts throughout the season -- the most in a season since 1997, which ties a program best. And they won 14 games this season, which is the most in program history since 2002.

The Eagles close the season with a record of 14-4-5 with three ranked wins this fall, reaching the national quarterfinal round, and leave the year with a bright future ahead of them.