By Scott Barker, Communications and Sports Information Intern

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – (Bracket | Box Score) In the second NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship semifinal match of the day, Spring Arbor (Mich.) prevailed with a 1-0 win over No. 2 Northwestern Ohio Friday night. Tomorrow’s match will be the first-ever National Championship appearance for Spring Arbor.

The Cougars got the lone goal of the game just two minutes in when Bethany Balcer beat goalkeeper Nadine Stonjek, for the first and only goal of the match.

Balcer now has three goals in this year’s tournament which is good enough for 13th.

The match was back and forth action throughout the game with both teams getting prime scoring chances. Northwestern Ohio finished the game with 15 shots and Spring Arbor recorded 12 shots.

Sarah Yancer and the Cougars defense have been stellar in the tournament as they have yet to allow a goal. The Cougars are outscoring their opponents 9-0 in four games.

“It feels great. We really worked hard for this and it’s such a great group of girls,” said Spring Arbor Head Coach Jason Crist. “UNOH [Northwestern Ohio] is a great team and they move the ball very well and we had to make some adjustments at halftime.

“I thought our girls responded pretty well though as it made us more defensive and we ended up having to defend most of the second half. But all that matters at the end is that we had the one on the scoreboard.”

Spring Arbor matches up with Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the 2015 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship tomorrow at 3 p.m. CST.

The last time these two teams met in the tournament was in 2013 when Lindsey Wilson defeated the Cougars 2-1 in the semifinals.

For more information of the 2015 Women’s Soccer National Championship final site, click here.