The Wolves fell behind 2-0, but netted two goals in the second half to force overtime. The second goal occurred with just 20 seconds remaining in regulation. However, Mary's Alex Bachman-Williams ended the game with a goal in the 94th minute of play to give the Marauders the win.
"We were down 2-0 and did a great job of fighting back to tie it up, so that was really good," Northern State coach Steve Kehm said, "but with it being our fourth overtime in our last five games, we have to win a way to get a result in overtime. In those four overtimes we have lost two and tied two and we have to find a way to stay switched on to win those games."
After falling behind by two goals with 24 minutes into the second period, the Wolves mounted a comeback in the final 20 minutes of regulation. NSU got one goal back in the 73rd minute on Laura Linscheid's first goal of the season. Linscheid took a Khachirha Tugas pass on the right side of the goal and slipped it past Mary goalkeeper Ashley Akers to cut the deficit in half.
The Wolves then took advantage of a last minute - literally - corner kick to tie the game. Junior Hilary Peterson took the kick and lofted it up in front of the net for Miranda Brower, who headed it in to send the game to overtime.
The loss concludes the road portion of the 2012 schedule for NSU, which returns home to finish out the regular season on Sunday against Minot State. NSU will honor seniors Anna Woerle, Rachel Goslinga and Renee Gittings prior to the game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. on Jerde Field.
"Minot is the third place team in the league," Kehm said. "We know that they are a very good team and we are going to have to stay switched on."
Mary 3, Northern State 2 OT
First Half: 1, Mary, Andrea Muller (Blaire Brookshire, Michelle Jones), 21:17.
Second Half: 2, Mary, Emily Christensen (Jones), 69:02; 3, Northern, Laura Linscheid (Khachirha Tugas), 72:21; 4, Northern, Miranda Brower (Hilary Peterson), 89:40.
Overtime: 5, Mary, Alex Bachman-Williams (Christensen), 93:51.
Goalies: Northern State, Shaina Stein (7 saves); Mary, Ashley Akers (3 saves).
Records: Northern State 3-11-3, 2-9-3 NSIC; Mary 9-7-0, 9-5-0 NSIC.