THE RUNDOWN
No. 5 DBU Advanced to the NCAA Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 4 Seattle Pacific on Saturday at Patriot Soccer Field. A Delaney Schmidt goal in the 51st minute sealed the match and lifted Coach Michelle Lenard to her 200th career win and her DBU Patriots to their first-ever Final Four.

The opening minute resembled a track meet as each team raced down the pitch for early shots on goal. But Patriots' goalkeeper Breanna Bowen would punch out the Falcons' early attack to begin another stellar shift inside the net. For the second time this week, defense and Delaney Schmidt would lead DBU to the win. The Patriots contained the nation's assist leader Sophia Chilczuk and held SPU's leading scorer Makena Rietz to a single shot attempt. 

 In the 51st minute, Melanie Castelan booted a pass to Summerlyn Heller. Heller then earned her 10th assist of the season by firing a beautiful cross to Schmidt for the go-ahead strike. Down 1-0, the Falcons dialed up the offensive pressure. However, Bowen and the backline rose to the occasion with diving saves and punched-out corner kicks as the clock became an ally of the Patriots. Fans at Patriot Soccer Field suffered a scare before a potential game-tying goal from SPU's Claire Nedar was ruled offsides in the 82nd minute. That attack would be the only time the Falcons found the back of the net before DBU marched down the field to kill the clock.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
-DBU improves to 10-2 in one-score games.
-Seattle Pacific loses in regulation for the first time this year.
-Women's Soccer becomes the first program in DBU Athletics history to reach a Final Four.

COACH MICHELLE LENARD ON THE HISTORICAL WIN 
"When I got to DBU 14 years ago, I felt like God gave me a vision for this program. That vision is about far more than soccer, and we try to live that out every day. But I felt like He was also driving this program to excellence, and that's what we've tried to do. He wanted us to succeed at a high level and use our gifts to glorify Him... This is really special and I am really excited and knew this day would come eventually."

BLYTHE OBAR ON THE TEAM'S HARD WORK PAYING OFF
"This is a really great feeling. To know everything we practiced and worked toward is coming true... At the beginning of the season this is just a goal and to see it actually happening gives me goose bumps."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
10 -Summerlyn Heller's 10th assist ties Abigail Olmos, Ashley Cox, and Allyson Bales for the most in a single season.
46 - Delaney Schmidt records the 46th goal of her legendary career.
2 -Breanna Bowen earns her second win in goal.

UP NEXT
No. 5 DBU heads to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the NCAA semifinals on December 9. The Patriots will be seeded with the winners of the other Elite 8 contests.