Valparaiso rallied from a two-goal second half deficit
to force overtime, but Eastern Michigan found
the back of the net in sudden death to earn a 3-2 double-overtime victory over
the Crusaders on Friday evening at Brown Field.
“Obviously I’m
disappointed with the loss, but our character was tremendous tonight,” head
coach John Marovich said. “We learned what it means to battle
back. The atmosphere out here was superb
again tonight.”
The Eagles took
advantage of a pair of Crusader turnovers in the first half to build a 2-0 lead
at intermission. Chelsea Detrick picked
up a miscue at the top of the box and scored the match’s first goal at the
21:42 mark. Just over five minutes
later, Maggie Christensen added the second goal, again picking up a Valpo turnover
and beating Kristen Manski (Saint Charles, Ill./North
H.S.) one-on-one in the box.
Valpo outshot Eastern Michigan (3-2-1) 7-6 in the opening 45 minutes,
but Monique Budani made a pair of stops to keep the Eagles on top.
“We got scattered in
the first half and gave away some goals,” Marovich added. “But I’m proud of this team. We came out the second half and evened the
game. We even put a ball off of the
crossbar in overtime.”
Cranking up the
offense is what Valpo did in the second half.
Casey Pedersen (Northville, Mich./Mercy
H.S.) started the first goal with a pass in the box to Trisha Wladecki (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.), who slid it to Catherine Terrell (Brighton,
Mich./Brighton H.S.) on the left
side. Terrell beat Budani from eight
yards out to cut the deficit in half.
Less than two
minutes later, with 27:25 to play in regulation, Pedersen sent a header onto
the foot of Luisa Desario (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett
H.S.), who drilled a shot from 15 yards out to tie the match at two.
Neither side could
find the back of the net during the rest of regulation, despite several
flurries at each end of the field.
Pedersen had a
chance to win the match for Valpo less than two minutes into the first
overtime, hitting the crossbar and then sending the rebound just wide.
The Crusaders put on
the pressure throughout the first 10 minute extra session, outshooting Eastern Michigan 3-0.
The Eagles found the
match-winner 3:08 into the second overtime though, as Paige Sheridan picked up
a loose ball off of the foot of Julie Kaim on a scramble in the box and scored
the decisive goal.
The Crusaders
finished the match outshooting the Eagles 15-13 and held a 5-3 advantage in
corner kick opportunities. Manski made
three stops between the posts for Valpo while Budani finished with four saves.
Valparaiso (3-1-2) will close out its three-match
homestand on Sunday afternoon hosting IUPUI in a 3 p.m. match at Eastgate
Field. All of the action can be heard
live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso)
and online at www.valpoathletics.com.
Match Notes: Valpo is now 0-1-2 in overtime matches this
season … Pedersen’s two assist night was her first as a Crusader … Eastern
Michigan leads the series 5-1 and has won five straight meetings … Desario now
has a team-leading three goals on the year … Valpo is now 4-2 all-time at Brown
Field.