MARSHALL, Texas – Down by two goals with twenty minutes to play, the East Texas Baptist University women's soccer team came from behind to tie the Schreiner University Mountaineers 2-2 in double overtime. Kendall Shirley earned both goals in the second half in her collegiate debut at ETBU. ETBU starts the season off at 0-0-1.
Kendall Shirley picked up the two goals in the second half for ETBU to lead the team. Ashleigh Rondon added six shots, including three on goal while Raegan Kappler also had three shots on goal and an assist. Leading SU was Dani Loblein, who had a goal and an assist on four shots including two on goal. Chloe Luna had three shots overall while Lindsey Fitz tallied the other goal.
Overall, ETBU outshot SU 20-13 with a 12-7 shot on goal edge. SU goalkeepers Jordin Torso and Allyssa Nease combined for 10 saves with five each while ETBU goalkeepers Karrigan Falber (three saves) and Maddie Rea (two saves) tallied five saves.
The first half belonged to ETBU as far as time of possession and shot opportunities. It took nearly fifteen seconds into the contest for ETBU to get their first shot off. SU's first shot of the game was saved by Falber at 7:11. Two more ETBU shots at 8:28 and 19:43 were wide of the net before the Tigers got their first shot on goal in the 24th minute. ETBU would have three more chances to capitalize on the opportunities before halftime. But all were saved by keeper Torso. At the half, ETBU had an 8-4 advantage in shots but it nobody had scored yet.
The second half started with both teams doing a 180 as SU came out shooting. Nine minutes in, SU netted their first goal from the left side of the field for an early 1-0 lead. Then in the 70th minute, the Mountaineers tallied their second goal on a corner kick to put them ahead 2-0. With twenty minutes left, ETBU started to go on the offensive again. They finally broke through at the 78:40 mark when Shirley scored from inside the box to trail 2-1. Then, with four minutes left, Shirley would tack in her second goal to tie the game. With momentum on their side, ETBU had a chance to win in regulation but an incredible save by SU's keeper denied them the chance as the game went into overtime tied at two.
In the first overtime session, ETBU kept applying pressure with shot opportunities to win the game including a corner kick opportunity in the 98th minute, when a straight header was deflected high at the last minute. SU would get one chance to win in the last minute of the first overtime, but their shot went high also. Both teams would have one chance to score in the second overtime session but neither would come through as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
ETBU will take on Mississippi University for Women at Columbus, Mississippi, at 1:00 PM on Monday.
