Shepherd Woman’s Soccer takes Charleston into Double Overtime Resulting in a 1-1 draw

Justin​ ​Cole​, ​Sports​ ​Writer

(The Picket) – After rallying in the second half with Charleston University the Shepherd women’s soccer team forced double overtime Sunday, Sept 17, but ended up with a 1-1 tie.

​In​ ​the​ ​early​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​game​ ​the​ ​Rams​ ​controlled​ ​the possession​ ​battle, but could not score

​ ​The​ ​Golden​ ​Eagles​ ​displayed​ ​their​ ​pestering​ ​defense​ ​making​ ​it hard​ ​for​ ​Shepherd’s​ ​midfielders, although​ ​the​ ​Rams​ ​had​ ​several​ ​opportunities​ ​to​ ​score. ​ ​With​ ​a precise​ ​corner​ ​kick​ ​from​ ​senior​ ​Brianna​ ​Gorman​ ​into​ ​the​ ​box, ​ ​sophomore​ ​Elishia​ ​Davis​ ​leaped​ ​in the​ ​air​ ​with​ ​a​ ​Charleston​ ​defender​ ​on​ ​her​ ​back​ ​and​ ​headed​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​right​ ​into​ ​the​ ​hands​ ​of goalkeeper​ ​Zoe​ ​Zyta of Charleston.​ ​

Rams freshman​ ​Emma​ ​Barnardoni​ ​also​ ​showed​ ​off​ ​her​ ​leg​ ​strength​ ​firing​ ​from deep​ ​but​ ​couldn’t​ ​reach​ the ​target.

At ​the​ ​21:39​ ​mark ​forward​​ ​Claire​ ​Couturier​ ​had​ ​a​ ​nice​ ​assist​ ​to​ ​midfielder​ ​Carly​ ​Anderson​ ​as she​ ​would​ ​give​ ​the​ ​Golden​ ​Eagles​ ​their​ ​first​ ​and​ ​only​ ​score​ ​of​ ​the​ ​day.​ ​The​ ​Charleston​ ​sideline cheered​ ​their​ ​teammate​ ​on,​ ​as​ ​Ram’s​​ ​captain​ ​Taylor​ ​Harwood​ ​commanded​ ​​ ​her​ ​team​ ​to​ ​pick​ ​it up.​ ​

As​ ​the​ ​first​ ​half​ ​came​ ​to​ ​an​ ​end​ ​Coach​ ​Jonathan​ ​Thayil​ ​called​ ​his​ ​team​ ​over​ ​and​ ​told​ ​them not​ ​to​ ​get​ ​down​ ​on​ ​one​ ​another​ ​and​ ​that​ ​they​ ​could​ ​still​ ​win​ ​the​ ​game, even with a 0-1 score.

At​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of​ ​the​ ​second​ ​half​ ​the​ ​Golden​ ​Eagles​ ​came​ ​out​ ​controlling​ ​the​ ​pace​ ​of​ ​the game,​ ​getting​ ​two​ ​shots​ ​off​ ​with​ ​one​ ​on​ ​net​ ​that​ ​got​ ​denied​ ​by​ ​All​-Conference​ ​goalkeeper​ ​Christi LaBella, a Rams junior.​

​Following​ ​the​ ​save,​ ​the​ ​Rams​ ​would​ ​pick​ ​things​ ​up​ ​on​ ​offense,​ ​putting​ ​pressure​ ​on Charleston’s​ ​defenders.​ ​Freshman​ ​Katherine​ ​Eddy​ ​showed​ ​promise​ ​as​ ​she​ ​raced​ ​past defenders​ ​and​ ​passed​ ​to​ ​senior​ ​Danielle​ ​Fernandez​ ​to​ ​her​ ​left. Fernandez​ ​ ​crossed​ ​it​ ​back​ ​into​ ​the box​ ​to​ ​ ​Davis​, ​who​ ​fired​ ​wide​ ​left​ ​of​ ​the​ ​goal.​ ​

Two​ ​minutes​ ​later,​ ​at​ ​the​ ​69:13​ ​mark, sophomore​ ​Brooke​ ​Harwood​ of the Rams ​would​ ​cross​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​into​ ​the​ ​net​ ​to ​​​Davis​. This​ ​time​ ​she​ ​sent ​the​ ​ball​ ​into​ ​the​ ​back​ ​of​ ​the​ ​net,​ ​tying​ ​the​ ​game​ at ​1-1.

After​ ​the​ ​score​ ​the​ ​Rams​ ​seemed​ ​to​ ​play​ ​with​ ​more​ ​effort​ ​to​ ​get​ ​to​ ​the​ ​ball. The team​ ​moved the​ ​ball​ ​well.​ ​Both​ ​teams​ ​felt​ ​the​ ​half​ ​coming​ ​to​ ​an​ ​end​ ​as​ ​Charleston​ ​raced​ ​down​ ​the​ ​field​ ​only to​ ​be​ ​stopped​ ​by​ ​senior​ ​defender​ ​Regan​ ​Stout​ ​and​ ​regular​ ​time​ ​came​ ​to​ ​an​ ​end.

Emotions​ ​were​ ​high​ ​at​ ​the​ ​start​ ​of​ ​overtime, as Shepherd would jump out from the start creating opportunities for themselves.​ ​Forwards​ ​Katherine​ ​Eddy​ ​and​ ​Samantha​ ​Eddy​ ​both​ ​would​ ​have attempts​ ​at​ ​goal​ ​but​ ​could​ ​not​ ​capitalize.

In​ ​the​ ​second​ ​half​ ​of​ ​overtime​ ​the​ ​Golden​ ​Eagles​ ​would​ ​battle​ ​back,​ ​​ ​getting​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​in​ ​the​ ​box, but​ ​both​ ​times​ ​were​ ​stopped​ ​by​ ​ ​Stout.​ ​She​ ​showed​ ​great​ ​composure​ ​not​ ​panicking and​ ​stopping​ ​the​ ​opposition​ ​in​ ​their​ ​tracks.

The​ ​Rams​ ​would​ ​fight​ ​back​ ​for​ ​a​ ​few​ ​opportunities​ ​of​ ​their​ ​own​ ​in​ ​double​ ​overtime​ ​but​ ​just​ ​could not​ ​chip​ ​the​ ​ball​ ​into​ ​the​ ​net, as the match ended up in a 1-1 draw.

On Wednesday, the Rams will go on the road to face West Liberty. The game starts at 4:30 p.m.

Justin Cole is a Sports Writer for The Picket. He can be reached at jcole07@rams.shepherd.edu