YANKTON, S.D. – Jimena Estrada Gomez recorded a hat trick and College of Saint Mary punched its ticket into the GPAC Tournament with a resounding 3-1 victory over Mount Marty University Wednesday at Crane Youngworth Stadium.

The pressure was on the Flames, as they needed a victory to ensure their spot in the Great Plains Athletic Conference quarterfinals. They earned the No. 7 seed and will play at second-seeded Concordia University on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

"So proud of these girls tonight,'' CSM Coach Jamison Parkhill said. "Knowing we needed the result, they battled all game long.''

Estrada Gomez, a senior out of Omaha South, opened the scoring in the 28^th minute. She took a throw-in from Ezzy Castro, dribbled around one defender, turned and ripped one from 20 yards out on the left wing past the keeper into the right corner of the net.

The Flames made it 2-0 in the 55^th minute when Estrada Gomez scored an unassisted goal. The Lancers cut the deficit in half on Rhyli Grim's goal in the 57^th minute. But Estrada Gomez completed her hat trick and impressive performance in the 67^th minute on an assist from Lesli Donis.

"Jimena was huge tonight, her best game of the season,'' Parkhill said. "She was feeling it tonight and it showed in her play.''

Mount Marty held a 15-12 advantage in shots, including a 12-6 edge in shots on goal. Jenna Brown notched the win in goal for the Flames, making 10 saves.

"It wasn't pretty in certain moments, but we won in the moments we needed to,'' Parkhill said.

Parkhill also praised the play of freshman Hanna Snow.

"Her play allowed us to be successful,'' he said. "It doesn't show in the stats, but she played great in the midfield.''

The Flames are safely into the postseason and will try to peak at the ideal time.

"Now we turn our focus into the playoffs and try to extend our season,'' Parkhill said. "One game at a time. We have the tools to make a run. We just have to believe and good things will happen in the postseason. Now we stand at 0-0.''