By RGVFútbol/Staff

ORANGE BEACH, Ala., 27 Nov. - UTB senior forward Leah Russell scored in the last minute and former Los Fresnos standout and sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Fulton had five saves to defeat Oklahoma City University 2-1 in the second round of the NAIA National Championship.

The victory avenged a season-opening loss to OCU and advanced UTB (16-1-3) to the quarterfinals of the national tournament on Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. against No. 12-ranked Olivet Nazarene (18-0-3) of Illinois.

"It took a lot of effort and perseverance for the ladies to get the win tonight against one of the top teams in the nation." said UTB head coach Nik Barjaktarevic in a press release. "They made us work very hard defensively and kept the pressure constantly with long balls, and their front line worked extremely hard and was very dynamic, but our defense was able to contain most of the threat and minimized good opportunities for OCU."

With the loss, No. 4 ranked OCU ended its season at 20-0-2.

Both sides battled to a scoreless draw in the first half before Brazilian junior midfielder Isadora Freitas put UTB ahead 1-0 in the 60th minute.

OCU forward Meghan McMahon equalized in the 75th to set up a dramatic finish by the Valley squad.

With a minute remaining in regulation time, Russell fired a shot that went through the legs of OCU goalkeeper Ashley Bechtold and into the back of the net for the game winner.

"It was a very tight national championship caliber game and both teams could have won today," said Barjaktarevic. "I'm glad we are the ones going forward. We will use the extra day to rest and refocus on the next task, and take it one game at a time."

UTB ended the Red River Athletic Conference regular season with a 12-1-3 record. In the RRAC Tournament, the Valley squad defeated Our Lady of the Lake University 2-1 in the semifinals and routed Texas Wesleyan University 6-0 in the championship match on Nov. 10.

In the opening round of the NAIA National Tournament on Nov. 17, UTB defeated William Carey University 2-1 to advance to the second round against OCU.