Newport News, Va. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team, ranked 13th on the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll, fell 2-1 to Virginia Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Third Round. The game was played at Captains Field at Christopher Newport University (Va.). 

UWL finishes its season at 21-2-1 while Virginia Wesleyan improves to 18-2-3 and will face host Christopher Newport (Va.) in the national quarterfinals on Sunday, November 20. 

The Eagles had five shots in the first 10:22 of the game with Marlins' goalkeeper Rachel Quigley recording a pair of saves. Virginia Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead at 17:03 on a Shyenne Diaz goal off assists from Alexis Miller and Kalyn Byrd. It was Diaz' 13th goal of the season.  

Sam Crawford gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead with her first goal of the year at 30:29 with an assist from Olivia Bryant.

Virginia Wesleyan maintained its 2-0 lead at halftime. The Marlins recorded five shots in the first 45:00 while the Eagles finished with seven. 

UWL cut the lead to 2-1 at 59:14 on Claire Cater's ninth goal of the season. Maggie Hernandez recorded an assist. Cater scored on a rebound shot after Quigley had stopped Hernandez attempt. The Eagles had three shots in the final 10:00 of the game as Quigley stopped a pair of shots from Alexis McMahon (80:06) and Isabel Batley (82:18). Sydney Halstead's shot at 83:57 was blocked. 

UWL totaled 18 shots in the game, including nine on goal. McMahon had a team-high four shots with two on goal while Ellie Arndt recorded three shots with two on goal. Virginia Wesleyan was held to nine shots with four on goal. Diaz had four shots in the game with one on goal. 

Making its fifth appearance (2015, 2017-18, 2021-22) in the NCAA Division III Championships, UWL is now 8-4-3 all-time in the tournament. All five appearances have come under head coach Jason Murphy. The Eagles have advanced to the national quarterfinals (2017, 2021) and third round (2018, 2022) twice. 

UWL's 21 wins this year set a single-season school record, breaking the record of 20 set in 2017. The Eagles had their 18-game (17-0-1) unbeaten streak and 14-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's loss. The 14-game winning streak tied the school record set in 2018.