Posted by Christopher Butler on Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2009
Event Date/Time:
Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2009 7:00 pm
Location:
Big Cat Stadium - Morris, Minn.
To walk along the UMM sidelines after the women's soccer game against MIAC foe St. Benedict's, you might not suspect they had battled for 108 humid and windy minutes, only to lose on a goal scored just 2:16 away from a scoreless tie that, based on the pace of play, would have felt every bit a victory.
You'd expect despondent faces, slumped shoulders. But there was none of that among the Cougar women. "We played way better than we did [against St. Ben's] last year. I will take our performance tonight," said junior midfielder Amber O'Connor who led UMM with five shots on the night, including a laser at 30:02 of the second half that went just left of goal.
Sophomore defender Crystal Zastrow agreed. "This was our best game of the season so far." Zastrow and her back line mates fought valiantly against a talented St. Ben's attack that maintained pressure on the goal box all night. "Keeping your concentration, knowing where your marks are... communication is a big thing in back," she said.
St. Ben's fired 35 shots on the night, 17 of which were snuffed out by goalkeeper Emily Jacob. In the first overtime, at the 7:30 mark, Jacob recorded an incredible save on a ball that slid beneath her body as she dove to stop it. She did managed to slow it down, but it continued rolling toward the goal line. Alertly, Jacob crawled after the ball, stopping it just short. To some spectators it appeared to be a goal, but officials ruled the entire ball hadn't passed the line.
UMM's best scoring opportunity arrived in the first overtime when forward Nina Jarnot lifted a looping ball that at first appeared to be a crossing pass, but narrowly missed sneaking into the upper right corner of the goal.
The back and forth of the second overtime felt as if they game might end in a scoreless tie. But St. Ben's Kelly Suter corralled a loose ball, split a pair of defenders and slipped a shot underneath a charging Jacob for the win.
UMM falls to 1-3 on the season. They play Hamline University this Saturday in St. Paul (2 p.m.). It will be their final non-conference game of the year before opening UMAC play next Tuesday against Presentation College.
To walk along the UMM sidelines after the women's soccer game against MIAC foe St. Benedict's, you might not suspect they had battled for 108 humid and windy minutes, only to lose on a goal scored just 2:16 away from a scoreless tie that, based on the pace of play, would have felt every bit a victory.