BOXSCORE MINNEAPOLIS -- Bri Dorale (SR, Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS) and Marie Fitzgerald (FY, Fort Atkinson, Wis.) scored goals 32 seconds apart late in the game, lifting the Augsburg College women's soccer team to a berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference postseason playoffs for the fifth time in school history with a 2-0 win over St. Mary's University on Saturday afternoon at Edor Nelson Field.

Dorale scored from Molly Allen (SO, Stillwater, Minn.) and Olivia Faison (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) at the 81:54 mark, then Fitzgerald scored from Allen and Bri Clark (SR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) at the 82:26 mark for Augsburg (11-5-2 overall, 6-3-2 MIAC).

The 11 wins are Augsburg's most in a single season since 2003, and marks the sixth time in the last 11 seasons under head coach Mike Navarre that the Auggies have recorded a double-digit victory season. The 11 wins are tied for the second-most in a single season in school history (11-5-2 in 2003, 11-5-2 in 2002, 11-5-1 in 1996), with Augsburg's 13-4-0 mark in 1995 its single-season win record. The conference playoff berth is the first for Augsburg since a run of four straight appearances from 2004-07.

"It's great to be back in the playoffs," said Augsburg head coach Mike Navarre. "It's a strong league and to finish in the top four is an accomplishment. This year's team has a resolve and we are excited to continue our season."

Augsburg finished in a tie for second place in the MIAC regular-season standings with its 6-3-2 mark, tied with St. Olaf (8-6-4 overall, 6-3-2 MIAC) and joining league regular-season champion Concordia-Moorhead (14-3-1 overall, 10-1-0 MIAC) and No. 4-seed St. Benedict (7-5-4 overall, 6-4-1 MIAC) in the four-team MIAC postseason playoffs.

Augsburg will be the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, and will travel to No. 2 seed St. Olaf in the playoff semifinal on Wednesday (10/31) at 2 p.m. in Northfield, Minn. No. 4 St. Benedict will play at No. 1 Concordia on Saturday at 2 p.m. The semifinal winners will meet next Saturday (11/3) at the highest remaining seed, with the playoff champion earning the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament.

In the tiebreaker for the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, St. Olaf earned the advantage based on the fourth tiebreaker -- record against teams with .500 or better records in conference play. St. Olaf was 3-2-2 in the category, while Augsburg was 3-3-1.

"We had a very even match versus St. Olaf earlier this year (0-0 tie on Oct. 9), so I would expect another great game on Wednesday," Navarre said. "(St. Olaf coach) Jeremy Driver did an outstanding job this year in leading his team into the playoffs. They won some big games down the stretch to get in. They definitely earned it."

Augsburg outshot St. Mary's (0-18-0 overall, 0-11-0 MIAC) by a 28-5 margin, including a 15-1 advantage in the second half, but could not get a shot past Cardinal goalkeeper Miranda Halling (SO, Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS) until the closing minutes. Augsburg had several opportunities to score, but had two shots hit the crossbar and another hit the goalpost. Halling ended up making 12 saves in the game.

Augsburg broke through in the 82nd minute, when a long pass from Faison to Allen put the Auggies in scoring position. Allen found Dorale on the left side of the goal, and Dorale put the ball home for her third goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Clark and Allen earned assists on Fitzgerald's third goal of the season, completing a quick sprint play to the goal.

Allen ended the regular season with 11 assists, tied for the second-most among MIAC players in overall statistics. Clark finished the regular season fourth among MIAC players in total points (22; eight goals, six assists).

Lexi Felix (FY, Kailua, Hawaii/Iolani HS) recorded one save to claim the shutout win, her third of the season.

Clark ended up with seven shots for the Auggies, while Fitzgerald had five shots. Dorale, Olivia Muyres (SO, Rochester, Minn./Lourdes HS) and Abi Rodstein (SO, Eagan, Minn.) had three shots each. Caroline Blackwood (FY, Norwalk, Ohio) had three of St. Mary's five shots on the day.