Box Score Contact: Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - A wild final 16 minutes of regulation saw three goals as the 16th-ranked Pacific Lutheran University women's soccer team settled for a 2-2 double overtime draw on Saturday against Northwest Conference rival Linfield College.
Kelly White provided the game's opening score, converting a penalty kick in the 10th minute to give the visiting Lutes (5-0-2, 2-0-1 NWC) the early advantage. PLU maintained the one goal buffer until the 74th minute when the Wildcats' Shelby DeRocher tallied the equalizer, snapping PLU's shutout streak at 484 consecutive minutes, a streak stretching across six games.
Pacific Lutheran countered 13 minutes later with Leah Magee scoring off a Machaela Graddy feed in the 87th minute to reclaim the lead. The Wildcats (2-4-1, 2-0-1 NWC) answered in the waning minutes of regulation, tying the game with 47 ticks left with Taylor Cole notching a goal off a pass from Baylie Cameron.
"Certainly always good to get a point on the road but to be honest it was a disappointing tie to be up a goal with about a minute left," said Head Coach Seth Spidahl.
"Still had a lot of positives today. We had 28 shots, we were dominant in the game, and we showed great character to come back after they tied it the first time. We also showed great character in not losing the game because certainly away from home giving up two leads sometimes I've seen teams sag and lose the game, so I'm proud of that."
PLU ripped off six shots over the course of the two 10-minute overtime sessions and owned a 28-12 edge in shots for the game but neither team was ultimately able to gain an edge before the horn sounded, settling for the draw after battling for 110 minutes.
Takara Mitsui made seven saves on the afternoon for PLU while her counterpart, Sarah Bailey, tallied 11 stops.
"It's game number three (of NWC play). We've got to learn from some of the choices we made late in the game and learn how to do better with those and that will help us with those games down the road."
The Lutes are back on the pitch tomorrow, traveling to Portland for a noon showdown with Lewis & Clark College.
