MONMOUTH, Ore. - After falling behind early, the Saints fought back and sent the match into overtime with a goal from
Dulce Armas before Kiersten Madsen's golden goal clinched the 2-1 victory over Western Oregon on Saturday.
Western Oregon (2-10-2, 1-7-2) capitalized on an early opportunity, after a shot from 15 yards out, bounced away from
Ali Koehler, and Dacia Alexander connected on the rebound shot. Her first goal of the season. Western Oregon continued to apply pressure against the Saints (2-12-1, 2-7-1), firing off four corner kicks and six shots, two of which were saved by Koehler, in the remainder of the first half. The Saints first and only shot of the half came in the 40th minute from
Kiersten Madsen, which landed on target.
Koehler continued to fight off Western Oregon's chances, making three saves in the second half to keep the score at 1-0.
Brittany Orlosky took the second shot for SMU in the 76th minute, landing on goal but saved by the Wolves.
Lauren Allison attempted to equalize in the 83rd minute before Dulce Armas found the net in the 84th minute on a shot from 20 yards, that went over the Wolves keeper.
In the first overtime period, the Saints took the only shot of the period, coming in the 94th minute. The Saints were awarded a free-kick 30 yards out, with
Madison Walker taking the kick. Walker found
Amber Burbridge, who tapped the ball to an open Kiersten Madsen who scored her second goal of the season to end the match in a 2-1 victory for SMU.
"It was brutal conditions but we showed amazing grit and fight to work through them without excuses today," said head coach
Heather Cato. "Hats off to Dulce (Armas) and Kiersten Madsen on two great finishes and Amber's (Burbridge) determination to keep the ball alive on the second goal. It was a team effort that we used to grind out the overtime win. We are very proud of the team's performance today and are looking to wrap up the season next week with a strong finish."
The Saints only took six shots in the game; however, all six came on goal with Armas and Madsen connecting for goals in the 83rd and 94th minute respectively.
Ali Koehler played all 94 minutes at goalkeeper, allowing one goal while making six saves on 11 shots faced.
Saint Martin's remains on the road with a match north of the border against Simon Fraser on October 26 at 5:00 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
