Danielle Stave's goal early in the second half gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead
SOU Soccer Plays The Master's to 2-2 Tie
BOX SCORE
ASHLAND – After 110 minutes of play, Southern Oregon and The Master’s finished off a 2-2 tie in nonconference women’s soccer Saturday afternoon at University Field.
The tie score moves SOU’s season record to 1-0-1, while The Master’s goes to 1-1-1. The Raiders return to action Sept. 1, when they will travel to Fresno, Calif., for a match against Fresno Pacific at 6 p.m.
“Today was a really spirited game between two good teams,” SOU head coach Jon Clement said. “I believe The Master’s is a top-20 team, and the way we played today shows that we can belong in that group as well.”
Shea Richardson scored the first goal, taking a pass from Janelle Sullivan 20 yards out and sending it to the right side of the goal to give Trinity Lutheran the 1-0 advantage less than five minutes into the match.
Stephanie Carr tied it up for the Raiders with her second goal in as many days, scoring on a free kick from 20 yards out in the 30th minute. The match remained tied through the end of the first half before Danielle Stave gave SOU the 2-1 advantage with a shot from the left side that hit the right post and bounced in less than two minutes into the second half.
The Master’s offense pressured the Raider defense throughout the second half, and the Mustangs broke through in the 81st minute when Richardson scored her second goal of the day to tie it up. Richardson took a pass from Danielle Hollinger in the middle of the field right in front of the box, and she sent it in to make it 2-2 and eventually force overtime.
“I was really pleased that we took a couple of punches, giving up an early goal and taking a lot of pressure in the second half,” Clement said. “I thought we responded really well, which bodes well for our team going forward.”
Southern Oregon’s best opportunity to earn the extra-time victory came in the 92nd minute, when Carr took a perfect pass and knocked a shot straight toward the goal. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the shot went right to Mustang goalkeeper Ilyssa Espiritu and she made the save.
The Master’s outshot Southern Oregon 19-16 overall in the match, although the Raiders finished with four shots on goal during the two overtime periods while the Mustangs were unable to come up with any.
“I thought our soccer in the overtimes periods was extraordinary,” Clement said. “Obviously you want to win the match, and I feel like there are some things we can tweak and fix, but for the most part we feel like in a match like that there are moments where we are on the front foot and moments where the other team has an advantage, and we played well in those situations.”