The Lady Blues soccer team shot a blank on Saturday, and not the fun kind used for guns.

Truman State blanked Washburn 1-0 in the first round of the MIAA tournament, effectively ending the Lady Blues’ season with minimal chance of making the NCAA tournament.

“Truman didn’t allow us to do what we do well,” said Tim Collins, Washburn head coach. “Their possession was so much better than us.”

The lone goal of the game came unassisted at the 16:27 mark by Truman State’s Theresa Bauler.

“They had a corner kick and the ball got served in,” said Collins, “and the ball was headed a couple of times until it broke free and they buried it.”

The Bulldogs ended up outshooting the Lady Blues 7-4 in the game with Washburn goalkeeper Jenny Persons making three saves.

“We talked at halftime about only needing five quality chances,” said Collins. “We only got four.”

“We were fighting too hard,” said junior midfielder Traci Nigg. “Like to the point where we got out of our game. We psyched ourselves out. We wanted it so much.

“When we are playing and having a good time, we are good.”

Collins reiterated he didn’t think the Lady Blues would make the NCAA tournament, and he was left to reflect on a season of missed opportunities.

“We have to be more demanding with our expectations and following through with them,” said Collins, adding ‘underachieving’ was a word he thought could be used to describe the season.

However, with the loss of so many seniors prior to the season, Washburn was a young team this year just learning the ropes. Collins said there are a lot of positive women in the program that have learned a lot.

“It hurt real bad for us to lose Saturday,” said Nigg. “But people can expect bigger and better things for next year because a lot of us are coming back.”