WAYNESBURG, Pa. (Sept. 7) – Despite dominating almost every major statistical category, the Waynesburg University women's soccer team went to double-overtime with visiting Franciscan on Friday night. In the end, an own goal committed by the Barons provided the winning tally in a 2-1 Yellow Jacket triumph.
The victory allowed Waynesburg to improve to 4-0 on the season, the first time the Orange and Black has done so since before 2001. Franciscan fell to 1-2 on the young campaign.
Despite out-shooting the visiting team by a 10-5 margin in the first half, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal, the game was locked in a scoreless tie at the break. It looked like Franciscan was going to escape with an improbable win after a turnover in the box led to the Barons taking a 1-0 lead in the 76
th minute.
However, Waynesburg maintained its strong offensive play and finally found the back of the net in the 87
th minute. Freshman
Meghan Briski did the honors when a crossing pass in the box from sophomore
Emily Hill slipped under the Baron goalkeeper, who had laid out to attempt to intercept the feed.
After the conclusion of regulation, the Jackets continued to control the contest, outshooting Franciscan 4-0 in a scoreless first overtime period. The contest finally reached its conclusion in the 105
th minute on a Yellow Jacket corner kick. Junior
Teagan Jenner rifled a feed into the box that somehow found its way into the back of the net off a Baron, giving the home team the victory in front of a fired up home crowd.
When it was all said and done, the Orange and Black fired off 31 shots, 17 of which were on goal. Franciscan countered with nine attempts, seven of which were on goal. The game was particularly lopsided in overtime, where Waynesburg held a seven-to-one advantage in total attempts. Hill and classmate
Christina Golonka tied for the game lead with six total shots.
Junior goalkeeper
Courtney Syfert improved to 4-0 on the year by making six saves and narrowly missing out on her third shutout of the season.
Waynesburg begins a stretch of four-straight road games on Wednesday, Sept. 12, when it heads to Muskingum. Start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.