DES MOINES, Iowa -- A season that started with uncertainty ended in regional disappointment for Maranatha, as they took a 2-0 loss to Faith Baptist today in the NCCAA North Region Championship.

Faith scored twice in the first half to reclaim the North Region title and the subsequent trip to the NCCAA National Tournament. Maranatha finishes the season with a 4-10-2 record.

OVERVIEW

• Result: #2 Maranatha 0-2 #1 Faith
• Venue: MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex
• Location: Des Moines, Iowa
• Event: NCCAA North Region Championship
• Attendance: 98
• Record: MBU (4-10-2), FBBC (3-7-2)

STORY

The contrast in the final score was pictured in the contrast of energy levels in the opening minutes, as Maranatha had to fight off the fatigue of their hard-fought semifinal win yesterday. Faith seemed to be one step ahead of things, and early attempts on Laura Brown's goal were just warning shots from the top-ranked hosts.

Faith finally made the breakthrough just 15 minutes into the game when Brenna Penrod crossed it into the penalty area to Abigail Speichinger, who poked home a close-range finish to open the scoring. The opening goal brought Faith and their fans to their feet, and the energy pushed the hosts to double their lead just nine minutes later. Penrod turned from provider to scorer this time, as she sent a soaring strike from the corner of the box into the far corner - a mirror image of Hannah Evans' strike from the day before.

Penrod's spectacular goal was all Faith needed. Maranatha created a couple of late chances but could not find a way through the stalwart Faith defense.

The final whistle triggered a rousing celebration from the Faith faithful, as the Sabercats were denied their chance of a return trip to the NCCAA DII National Championship.

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Hannah Evans, Myah Hoffmann, Sarah Moore, Rebecca Riley, Angel Steuerwald, Olivia Vander Pluym, and Makayla Willette all played their final game in Maranatha colors. Many of them were a contributing factor to last year's National Championship team.

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MBU Starters: 1- L. Brown, 2- Mak. Willette, 5- Mal. Willette, 6- Warner, 7- Evans (C), 8- Bishop, 12- Moore (C), 16- Vander Pluym, 19- Steuerwald (C), 20- Hassenplug, 22- J. Brown

STATS

• Shots: Maranatha 4-15 Faith
• Shots on Goal: Maranatha 2-13 Faith
• Laura Brown: 11 saves
• Last time: The teams tied 1-1 at Maranatha on October 30 
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 9-4-1

OPPONENTS

• Faith awaits their seeding for the NCCAA DII National Tournament
• Faith entered the tournament as the #5-ranked team in the NCCAA DII

NEXT

A full recap of the season will be coming at mbusabercats.com.