Sophomore Sarah Lang scored with 22 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 2-2, but her late game heroics weren’t quite enough as Methodist scored the golden goal in overtime to win 3-2. The Pride fall to 6-2-1 in conference play and currently sit in fourth place in the conference.
Despite the cold, rainy conditions, the game got off to a quick start as Methodist found the back of the net just two minutes into the game. Jessie Oder scored the goal with the assist from Jillian Reed. The score would remain 1-0 for the rest of the half, with both teams having several opportunities to make a breakthrough, but not doing so.
The Monarchs had an excellent chance to extend their lead at the 62 minute mark, when Danielle Minichello went down in the box, drawing a penalty kick. Marissa Kuzbyt had great placement on the ball, putting it just inside the right post, but goalkeeper Shireen Unvala made a superb diving save to keep the deficit at 1-0.
Methodist would maintain their advantage until the 72nd minute when junior Meredith Kelly scored her 7th goal of the season. Kelly took the feed from sophomore Sarah Lang and fired a long shot over the head of Methodist goalkeeper Sara Altman to tie the game. The Monarchs would respond just three minutes later, however, as Lisa Paschal regained the lead on an unassisted goal.
Following the Monarch’s second goal, The Pride turned up the pressure and kept Methodist on their defensive end of the field. The pressure finally paid off with less than a minute remaining, as The Pride’s leading scorer, Sarah Lang, chipped in the equalizer to force overtime. Kelly provided the assist this time, as she drove forward into the box and beat two defenders. Although Kelly’s shot was deflected, Lang was able to reach it before the Methodist keeper and redirect it into the goal.
Greensboro continued to apply the presse throughout overtime, but Methodist was able to find the game winner with just over a minute remaining on a counterattack. Kristin Habig took a long ball from Minichello and beat her marker to score the golden goal and end the game.
The Pride outshot Methodist 23-13 in the game, but the Monarchs had a 7-6 advantage in corner kicks. Unvala recorded seven saves for The Pride and Altman tallied 11 for Methodist.
This game concludes the regular season for The Pride. They finished with a record of 10-5-1, 6-2-1 in the USA South. The USA South conference tournament will begin Tuesday, November 1st. Final seedings and first round match-ups will be announced later this week.