ST. PAUL, MINN. – 101:12.

One hour, 41 minutes and 12 seconds.

That's how long it took the St. Catherine University soccer team to score in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championship. The Wildcats waited one hour, 41 minutes and 12 seconds for Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) to score the game-winning goal against Gustavus Adolphus College Gusties, a team that beat St. Kate's 3-0 in the regular season.

One hour, 41 minutes and 12 seconds. One hundred and one minutes and 12 seconds. That's how long it took for the Wildcats to be crown MIAC Playoff Champions and win the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament, set to begin next weekend.

It may arguably be the best 101:12 minutes in the history of St. Kate's soccer.

In a game that would be defined by outstanding defensive play, it's no surprise that neither the Gusties nor the Wildcats could score in regulation. For 90 minutes of play, St. Kate's and Gustavus played solid, outstanding, defensive soccer where neither team was able to score, despite chances on both sides. The Wildcats were awarded three corner kick opportunities in the opening 45 minutes of play but were unable to convert on any of them.

Molly Hayes (South St. Paul, Minn. / South St. Paul) appeared to score the first goal of the game with less than 15 minutes remaining in the first half. The junior midfielder headed a corner kick from Iryna Talkachova (Minsk, Belarus / Shattuck-St. Mary's) into the cross bar and watched it bounce straight down. Unfortunately, Hayes' ball didn't break the plane of the goal line, meaning St. Kate's and Gustavus was still deadlocked in a scoreless tie at the end of the first half.

The score remained 0-0 after the second 45 minutes of play, as neither team was able to convert on its respective offensive chances. Jessica Perez-Adame (San Jacinto, Calif. / San Jacinto) continued her historic play in net as the Wildcats starting goalkeeper. The senior did not allow a single goal in over 100 minutes of play and made nine saves, bringing her MIAC Tournament total to 30 saves in 301:12. She made seven saves in the second half alone to keep the Gusties off the board, while her counterpart Ashley Becker made five saves in the final 45 minutes to hold the Wildcats scoreless as well.

When 90 minutes wasn't enough to determine the MIAC Champion, St. Kate's and Gustavus went into overtime, a situation neither team has been unfamiliar with this season. Both the Wildcats and Gusties played at least one overtime in the 2017 postseason, and the two teams actually needed overtime and a shootout to determine which team would advance to the semifinal in 2016.

Machovec and Bird both tried to end the game in the first overtime. Machovec's bullet of a shot rang of the crossbar in the extra 10 minutes, right into the waiting feet of Bird. The sophomore forward took the shot, but Becker made the diving save to keep St. Kate's off the board.

After the first overtime ended, it looked like a shootout between the two teams was inevitable. However, it was Machovec and Bird who put a stop to those thoughts just one minute in to the second overtime. Machovec fed the Bird at the top of box, and this time, Bird's shot was too much for Becker to handle, as it sailed to the back of the net to give the Wildcats the 1-0 victory.

With the win, St. Kate's wins its first ever MIAC Playoff Championship and will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history as well. The Wildcats will discover their fate on Monday, November 6, when the NCAA Selection Committee announces the tournament field. More information will be available later this weekend.