By Mason Nesbitt, Sports Information Director
Even if the rankings didn’t say so, The Master’s University women’s soccer team did not enter Monday’s match at Reese Field unaware of the talent possessed by its guests.

The Mustangs knew that Marian University (IN) had beaten No. 24 Hope International two days prior, and that freshman Erin Oleksak posed a problem if left improperly checked.

The Knights reassured Master’s on both fronts, building a two-goal lead in the first half and outlasting a furious Mustang rally that forced two overtimes. Marian won 3-2 on Oleksak’s goal in the 102nd minute, dropping Master’s to a season record that reads like a countdown: 3-2-1.

Both Marian and Master’s narrowly missed inclusion in the NAIA preseason coaches’ poll. TMU coach Curtis Lewis is sure the Knights (4-0) won’t be left out in the next rankings.

“Credit to Marian for punishing our mistakes,” Lewis said, adding, “They will be jumping into the top 20 with their results.”

In fact, in addition to beating Hope International – one of the Mustangs’ Golden State Athletic Conference rivals – 4-0, the Knights had also beaten Marymount California, 2-0, during their Southern California swing. Another shutout remained possible until Kyndel Borman scored for the Mustangs in the 74th minute and Kayla Sims followed with the equalizer 12 minutes later.

It was a rally Master’s might not have been capable of in past seasons.

“If you asked me if past teams would have done that, I don’t think we would have,” said TMU defender Kayla Peterson. “I think this team is different. We’ve shown more passion and drive to go after it. Once we got that first goal, we had the momentum to get the second. Once we got the second, we’re like, ‘We’re in this now.'”

Marian, which hails from Indianapolis, Indiana, is 4-0 on the year, and much of the success correlates to Oleksak. She’s scored six goals with three assists.

Still, Master’s felt it had a clear scouting report on the freshman forward entering the match.

“She likes to get the ball, turn with the ball and run at us,” Peterson said. “When we put a body on her and didn’t let her to turn, she wasn’t a threat. But over time, they were sending balls over and we gave her too much space and allowed her to do what coach told us not to let her do.”

After Oleksak assisted on a goal in the 22nd minute and scored one of her own seven minutes before halftime, the Mustangs found themselves looking at their largest deficit of the season.

At the break, Lewis switched the Mustangs from the offensive system they had used effectively in a 2-1 win over No. 21 Kansas Wesleyan on Saturday back to their familiar 3-4-3.

“That helped us get forward a lot quicker and easier,” Borman said, “and it opened up the spaces for us to be able to score.”

In the 74th minute, Borman did just that. She took a touch on a pass from Erin Barr, turned and fired a shot from 20 yards away. It was her team-leading third goal of the season and first since she scored two in the season opener on Aug. 17.

The goal energized the Mustangs, and Borman wasn’t finished impacting the afternoon.

In the 86th minute, Borman crossed a pass directly in front of the goal. Kayla Sims poked it toward the goal line, but there was initially question as to whether the ball had crossed over. “That was in,” Sims said, pointing toward the ground. The referees agreed. Her third goal of the year would count.

“It was fully across the goal line with about 4 inches to spare,” Borman said. “… Everyone that was in there knew it was in.”

The Mustangs’ best chance to win came in the first overtime when Borman earned a strong look at goal. But her shot sailed wide right. It was the only shot Master’s attempted through 20 minutes of overtime, but it did not diminish what was an impressive show of collective will.

“Our work ethic getting back into the game was really promising for us this year,” Lewis said. “What that does for next time is it lets us say, ‘OK, guys. We’ve been here before. Let’s go after it.”