EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Sophomore
Rebecca Rodgers' (Peotone, Ill./Peotone) successful penalty kick in the 104th minute (103:41) lifted the Drake women's soccer team to a 2-1 double-overtime victory past SIU Edwardsville (1-3-1) on Friday (Sept. 12).
The goal was the second of the game for Rodgers, who now has recorded back-to-back multiple-goal performances following her two-goal output versus Creighton this past Sunday (Sept. 7).
“Double overtime wins are thrilling, but to be honest we had clear-cut chances prior to the end of regulation that we need to put away on the road,” quote Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “We were sluggish and reactive in the first half, but looked determined and played like we had something to prove after that. We are a team that can compete and give a lot of teams a good game, but our mentality and work ethic can't dip for any length of time. When they do, we are very average.”
The Bulldogs (3-4) outshot the Cougars on the evening, 16-13, including 12-6 on goal.
Kayla Delgado gave SIU Edwardsville the early advantage in the affair connecting on her first goal of the season at the 36:46 mark.
The Cougars maintained the lead until the 70th minute (69:26) when Rodgers delivered her team-leading fourth goal on the campaign. Freshman Kasey Hurt (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) sent in a corner kick to junior Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) who flicked it on to Rodgers for the goal.
SIU Edwardsville was dealt a blow to their chances at victory at the 84:12 mark when Delgado, who registered a game-high six shots, was issued a red card forcing the Cougars to play the remainder of the contest a player down.
Neither team was able to win the game in regulation forcing the tilt into overtime.
Senior Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North) delivered both of the Bulldogs' two shots in the initial overtime stanza. Her first shot attempt was blocked, while SIU Edwardsville goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley saved the second.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kylynn Moyer (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) thwarted the Cougars' lone shot attempt in overtime saving Katya Skrivan's shot on goal in the 101st minute (100:34).
Rodgers and Stokes paced Drake with a pair of five-shot performances. All five of Rodgers' shots were on net.
Pelley pulled in a game-high 10 saves for the Cougars, while Moyer made five stops for the Bulldogs.
“We raised our game in the second half and while it was a pure battle and mostly ugly, we fought our way to a result on the road," said Horner. "We had momentum after our first goal, and it helped to play up a man, but very proud that we found a way to win.”
Drake returns to action on Sunday (Sept. 14) with a 1:00 p.m. tilt at Western Illinois.
