NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior
Emily Lecy registered the game-winning goal exactly five minutes into overtime for the St. Olaf College women's soccer team in a 2-1 victory over non-conference opponent Grinnell College on Wednesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.
Five minutes into the first overtime period, Lecy got past a defender and fired a shot over the Grinnell (6-6-1) goalkeeper into the top-right corner from the left corner of the box to give St. Olaf (9-3-2) its first overtime victory of the season. The goal was Lecy's fourth of the season and her first game-winner.
The Oles took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute on first-year
Grace Maxwell's first collegiate goal. After
Mackenzie Schoustra took a corner from the left, classmate
Claire Bash flicked the ball on at the near post and Maxwell was on hand at the back post to fire the ball into the roof of the net. Schoustra's assist was her team-high sixth of the season, while Bash earned her second.
St. Olaf maintained its one-goal lead at the half, but Grinnell got level just less than 10 minutes after the break. After Valencia Alvarez got to the end line on the right, she cut the ball back to Jordan Maddaus near the top of the six-yard box and Maddaus picked out the top-right corner for the Pioneers to even the score at 1-1.
With the score tied at 1-1, first-year
Greta Anderson had a pair of chances to put St. Olaf back on top, but fired just high in the 73rd minute from the top of the box and hit the cross bar 10 minutes later. Alvarez also hit the woodwork for Grinnell two minutes after Maxwell's opener.
St. Olaf held an 18-5 advantage in shots in the game, although shots on goal were just 7-3 in favor of the Oles. First-year
Rachel Nelson moved to 2-0-0 on the season with two saves, while Elizabeth Hunt fell to 6-6-1 despite a five-save afternoon.
The Oles remain home to face the University of St. Thomas on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. to begin a series of three-straight games against teams also in the hunt for Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff spots.