ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Bethel University Women's soccer team captured a 2-1 overtime victory over the Gustavus Golden Gusties on Wednesday afternoon, stretching their winning streak to five games. Thanks to losses by Macalester and St. Olaf Wednesday the Royals now find themselves alone in sixth place looking to claim the final MIAC Playoff spot with a win in the regular season finale Saturday at St. Kate's. The Royals fifth consecutive victory tied program records of wins in MIAC play and consecutive games without a loss, as they will look to break those records and punch their ticket to the program's first ever MIAC Playoff appearance in the Saturday showdown in St. Paul.

The Royals came out aggressive to start the game, outshooting the Gusties 8-2 in the first half.  However, the Gustavus defense held up against the early surge and the two teams headed into halftime scoreless.

While the Gusties struggled to find their offense in the first half, they struck quickly in the second period as their top scorer Maddison Ackiss netted a breakaway goal in the 46th minute.  Ackiss converted with a great finish, rifling the ball just past the outstretched arm of Royal's goalkeeper Micale Jensen and giving the Gusties their first lead. Despite the sudden momentum shift, the Royals stayed patient and eventually tallied the equalizer in the 63rd minute on the connection between Savannah Swanson and Samantha Provost.  Swanson capitalized for her fifth goal of the season and helped the Royals preserve their playoff hopes.  The game would go into overtime and senior Jessica Huseby once again clinched a Royal victory, scoring just 1:22 into the period off an assist from Erin Ness.

The Royals are now 6-2 in their last eight contests and head coach Amanda Maxwell knows this has been a special season for her squad.  "The trials we faced in the early part of the season have made us a better team today.  I'm so proud of this team for the passion they are playing with," said Maxwell. 

Bethel will now look ahead to their last game of the regular season against St. Catherine's University on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a chance to play their way into the conference playoffs.