The goalless stretch between the Hope College and Calvin College women's soccer team ended swiftly and not in the Flying Dutch's favor.
Two successful strikes in a span of 2 ½ minutes early in the first half sent Hope to a 3-0 loss in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament championship match on Saturday.
The Flying Dutch (16-3-3 overall) will need an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championships to continue their season. Hope was not ranked in the Central Region heading into the weekend.
Calvin (18-2-2) claimed the MIAA's automatic berth to the national tournament. The NCAA announces the women's field on Monday at 1 p.m.
Calvin's Allie Corp and Paige Capel scored 13:08 and 15:41 into the first half for a 2-0 lead.
The two teams had played 233 minutes of scoreless soccer before that, including two regular-season 0-0 draws.
Capel added another goal with 3:49 remaining in the second half.
Hope coach Leigh Sears said her team accomplished a lot this season despite several challenges, including a roster with only three seniors and several key injuries throughout the season.
The 16 wins tied for the third-most in team history.
"Young has its ups and downs. We were definitely inconsistent, but found ways to win," Sears said. "I knew the class coming in (was) very good. The future is really bright. The first half of year I thought we could do something special. We did enough to get here. We just couldn't get over the hump."
It was Hope's third appearance in a MIAA Tournament championship match.