The faces of the seniors on the Creighton women’s soccer team were all anyone needed to see to know the outcome of the Jays’ first-round Missouri Valley Conference tournament game against Missouri State on Wednesday night at Morrison Stadium.

Creighton lost to the Bears in a penalty-kick shootout after a scoreless regulation and two overtimes, ending the careers of five seniors, including forward Marcy Gans.

“Obviously everything has to come to an end,” a teary-eyed Gans said. “You always want it to be later rather than sooner. It was a tough game. Both teams had their chances and it was a tough way to lose.”

Gans ended her career as Creighton’s all-time leader in goals and points scored, and senior goalkeeper Kristen Casey notched the 18th shutout of her career in the match, ranking third in school history.

“I feel for all of our seniors,” head coach Bruce Erickson said. “They have been fantastic over four years. They all contributed in different ways.”

Missouri State outshot the Jays 4-2 in penalty kicks to win the match, which started 89 minutes late.

Lightning caused a weather delay at halftime of the tournament’s first game between Drake and Indiana State. No. 6 Indiana State pulled off the upset against No. 3 Drake in double overtime.

The Bluejays had more chances than MSU in regulation and overtime with nine shots on goal compared to the Bears’ four, but they were not able to put one in the net.

“I think, unfortunately, when it comes down to penalty kicks, the team that plays the best doesn’t always come out on top,” Erickson said. “I thought we were the better team and we played the best, but we didn’t put away our chances. It should have never gotten to overtime.”

With the tie, Creighton ends its season 12-6-1 overall.

Missouri State advances to the semifinals to play top seed Evansville.

“We’ve got a talented group returning next year,” Erickson said. “We’re going to have to remember this feeling and come back and set our sights on winning this league.”