Junior Britney Jones made the third and match-winning penalty kick during the Lady Owls' shoot-out win over Mexico. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

For the second time this season, the Marshall girls' soccer team engaged in shoot-out with an NCMC foe and came away the winner.

Mexico and the Lady Owls were tied 1-1 Wednesday through two overtime periods, so settled down to shooting penalty kicks.

The Lady Bulldogs made only two of five attempts, by seniors Sarah Hotop and Jenna Nelson, but Marshall came out on top by converting three of four.

Junior Vicky Renderos made the first try for the Lady Owls, then senior Regan Hartley missed. However, senior Paige Fifer and junior Britney Jones both found the net to seal the victory.

Mexico (5-7, 3-5 NCMC) took advantage of some sluggishness by the home team to score midway through the first half when junior Kyneah Brookins sent a Hotop pass past senior goalkeeper Xochitl Ruiz, who stopped five shots during the match.

"We didn't do a good job of challenging or marking up, and it eventually caught up to us," noted Marshall head coach Josh Posegate. "We weren't marking up well in the box, either."

Yet, the Lady Owls regrouped at halftime and evened matters five minutes into the second half when Renderos' crossing pass deflected off of junior 'keeper Khala Fowler and freshman Kelsey Griffin was there to put away the loose ball.

"We have moved Kelsey to outside midfielder, where she has felt more comfortable," Posegate explained. Renderos' attack "was a good, hard shot, difficult for the goalkeeper to handle."

Marshall didn't put a shot on goal the rest of the match, until the shoot-out. Senior Sam Potucek had two attempts denied by Ruiz after halftime.

It was the seventh win in a row for the Lady Owls (7-2, 4-1), scheduled to play three matches this weekend at the Smith-Cotton Tournament -- starting with today's contest against Sacred Heart.

"We really didn't play that good all game, but we were able to find a way to win," Posegate said. "Credit the girls with the determination to stick with it."