Women’s Soccer sinks Saint Mary’s in overtime
MEQUON, Wis. – For the first time this season, the Falcons needed extra time to settle the match. The CUW women walked away victoriously against the Belles of Saint Mary's with a 2-1 victory to remain unblemished at 4-0 on the year.
"A hard-fought win today," said head coach Ryan Middendorf. "A win is a win. It is a very good thing for the growth of a team to face an overtime match early in the season. It is even better when you can gain the confidence through winning an overtime match. I'm learning quite early in this season that a characteristic of this team is their relentless desire to win games."
Surrounded by five Saint Mary's defenders, junior Allison McElwee (Laramie, Wyo.) zigged and zagged to put the ball in the back of the net in the 13th minute.
The Falcons went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The Belles tied the match in the 56th minute off the boot of Lexi Trombly.
The Falcons continued to pepper the SMC goal, but extra time was needed.
Junior Kaeley Sterkel (Dana Point, Calif.) made a save to start the overtime session.
After a bad Belles pass, Allison McElwee passed the ball into freshman Selena Esten (Cedarburg, Wis.), who used a spin move to shake off the defender and put the ball away.
The Falcons bombarded the SMC net and outshot Saint Mary's 25-5. Kam Lewkowski finished the day with 17 saves.
Freshman Karoline Haugland (Bergen, Norway), junior Alexandra Tomich (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Allison McElwee also finished with five shots.
The Falcons also posted a 10-0 advantage in corners.
Kaeley Sterkel finished the afternoon with four saves.
The Saturday overtime victory was the first overtime victory for CUW since Oct. 24, 2015, in a 1-0 victory at Concordia Chicago.
The Falcons open NACC play on Saturday at Lakeland.
