LACEY, Wash. – Overtime soccer and the Saint Martin's Saints, a trend that has been the headliner for SMU in 2019. In the home opener against Whitman, the Saints were tied 1-1 heading into extra time, but on Monday it only took 28 seconds for the drama to unfold.
 
On a ball from Shea McKnight, into the middle of the box, Kendall Kemp made the most of her first collegiate goal. Kemp punched in the ball from seven yards out and sealed the victory with the golden goal, lifting SMU to their first win of the season.
 
After a defensive first half, with the score tied at 0-0, Saint Martin's got on the board first in the 56th minute. Maddie Wolff, off of a perfectly placed pass from Olivia Bianco, scored her first collegiate goal from the middle of the box to put SMU on top 1-0.
 
The lead did not hold for long though as Whitman struck back in the 67th minute with a shot that nearly grazed the crossbar. Saint Martin's and Whitman both had opportunities to score the potential game-winning goal in normal time, but neither defense broke.
 
In four the Saints' five matches this season, overtime has been needed to decide the outcome. Saint Martin's entered the match with one loss and two draws in extras. This time, Kemp sent the crowd home happy, scoring the golden goal on the first opportunity.
 
Saint Martin's recorded 20 shots, their most this season, with six landing on target. Eleven different players were credited with shots, and 13 shots came from players off the bench.
 
Sara Christensen got the start in goal for SMU, playing all 91 minutes, and recorded five saves with one goal allowed.
 
Saint Martin's continues their homestand on Thursday, hosting Warner Pacific at 2:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.