SHEBOYGAN - The Lakeland women's soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at the hands of Maranatha Baptist (7-6 overall, 4-4 NAC) in a Northern Athletics Conference contest on Thursday afternoon at Lakeland.

The Muskies (8-7, 4-4), who outshot the Crusaders 21-7 in the game, ferociously fought to square the match in the last 10 minutes, but came up short on several chances in the attacking third, including two corner kick opportunities in the final two minutes.

Lakeland head coach David Madsen pointed out that the Muskies had several chances to put the game out of reach in the first half as well.

"It's very frustrating that we can't seem to find the motivation to put a game away when it's there for us to take," Madsen said. "You keep a team like this around long enough, and they're going to give you a game for 90 minutes. I was not surprised by what they did, but I was very surprised by what we did."

Senior forward Amy Christenson (Dodgeville) put Lakeland on the board in the 11th minute. Senior forward Megan Stock (Libertyville, Ill.) found a wide-open Christenson on the right side with a beautiful crossing pass, which was put away easily to give the Muskies a 1-0 lead.

However, the Crusaders struck twice before the 25-minute mark to take a one-goal lead that they would not relinquish.

"We didn't match their intensity and we didn't match their focus, and that was the difference in the game," Madsen said. "Maranatha got two chances to put it away, and that's all they needed. We weren't focused in our attacking third, and missed our chances today."

Sophomore goalkeeper Whitney England (Ashwaubenon) posted four saves for Lakeland.

The Muskies return to the field on Sunday to face Aurora University in a NAC showdown at 1 p.m. in Aurora, Ill.