Schall Ties Goal Mark but Hounds Fall to Mules in OT
ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- Senior forward Kirsten Schall tied the Moravian College women’s soccer single season record with her 16th goal of the season to tie the match; however, rival Muhlenberg College scored the overtime winner in the 96th minute for a 2-1 victory in a Matte Award contest in Allentown Tuesday evening.
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Team Stats
Muhlenberg College
| Game Statistics | Moravian University | Muhlenberg College |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 5 (4) | 16 (8) |
| Saves | 6 | 3 |
| Fouls | 11 | 7 |
| Corner Kicks | 4 | 2 |
| Offsides | 0 | 2 |
ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- Senior forward Kirsten Schall tied the Moravian College women's soccer single season record with her 16th goal of the season to tie the match; however, rival Muhlenberg College scored the overtime winner in the 96th minute for a 2-1 victory in a Matte Award contest in Allentown Tuesday evening.
Schall is the third player in Moravian history to tally 16 goals in a season, joining Carli Miller '00, who set the mark with 16 goals as a freshman in 1996, and Megan Collins '06, who hit the mark as a senior in 2005. Schall is third in school history with 35 career goals, and she moved into third all-time with 88 points on her goal Tuesday.
"Kirsten by far is one of the best strikers in the region," stated Head Coach Jeff Ykoruk. "She is having a great year, and hopefully she has a couple of more left in her for the weekend."
Moravian looked for a quick start with a corner kick just 2:09 into the match, and the Hounds would keep the pressure on for another corner kick in the 11th minute. However, it would be the Mules that registered the first shot on goal in the 15th minute with Greyhounds' junior goalie Jacqueline Zalis turning the shot aside for her only save in 45 minutes of action.
Schall left the game a minute and a half later with an injury, and Muhlenberg would have the better of play for the rest of the half, registering six more shots while the Hounds would get just one corner kick as the math went to the intermission scoreless.
"I think the biggest difference maker in the first half is when Kirsten went out with her injury," commented Ykoruk.
The Mules continued to press early in the second half with two shots in the opening 16 minutes with freshman Jessica Lawton stopping one in the 61st minute.
Moravian finally registered its first shot in the 67th minute as junior midfielder Catherine Lamplugh connected on a shot that was knocked down by the goalie. With the loose ball bouncing around the box and the goalie on the ground, freshman forward Brooke Leacott kicked the ball towards an open net only to see a Muhlenberg defender knock the ball away.
After a save by Lawton a minute later, the Greyhounds would go on the offensive again. Schall, back in the game after sitting out the final 29 minutes of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half, headed a crossing pass from the right side of the field towards the goal but put it just over the crossbar.
The Hounds would have a corner kick in the 72nd minute with freshman defender Lauren Bertucci heading the kick on goal but right to the keeper.
Muhlenberg eventually took a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute on a quick counter, using speed to the right side of the attack to score, beating Lawton to the ball as she came out to challenge the attempt.
The Greyhounds needed just under five minutes to tie the match. Junior midfielder Taylor Blake sent Schall on a breakaway with a pass near midfield. Schall took one touch while splitting the defenders and then fired a shot across to the right front corner of the goal to knot the score.
Muhlenberg had a pair of shots on goal to end regulation with Lawton coming up with two of her five saves.
Muhlenberg came out with a quick shot in the first minute of overtime that Lawton stopped, but the Mules earned the victory in the 96th minute on a shot down the goal line from the right side that originally looked like it was going to be wide but the ball spun into the goal on its first bounce.
"In the second half, we had moments were we could have finished the ball," Ykoruk said. "We had one on the end line that they cleared right off. We have to bury those chances when we have them. We don't do that and they take a lead. They played at a level in overtime that we didn't step up to and that was the difference right there. They out worked us in overtime."
The Greyhounds will close out the 2014 regular season with a Landmark Conference match at Drew University on Saturday, November 1 at 3:30 p.m.
The teams will be fighting for a berth in the Landmark Tournament on Saturday. If Drew loses to the University of Scranton on Wednesday, then the Greyhounds can make the postseason with a tie against the Rangers on Saturday. If Drew ties or wins versus Scranton tomorrow, then the Hounds will need a victory on Saturday to earn their eighth consecutive berth in the Landmark Conference Tournament.
