SILOAM SPRINGS -- With a draw looming for both squads in the final moments, the Golden Eagles pulled off a bit of magic on Thursday (Aug. 31) evening at Alumni Field when sophomore Aubrey Winter's last-second strike from the top of the box gave the No. 20 John Brown University women's soccer team a 2-1 victory over No. 22 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.).
Off a handball midway through the John Brown defense side and just 14 seconds on the clock, freshman Brooklyn Hendrick's boot upfield landed in the Nazarene box. A failed clear landed in front of sophomore Bella Graber, who lofted a kick back toward the top of the Tiger box as the seconds counted down.
Settled by freshman Julia Lambert, Winter stepped into a left-footed kick and delivered the game-winner to the left pocket of the goal behind Tiger keeper Tessa Kowalski with 3.3 seconds left to send John Brown to a second consecutive top-25 win.
𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗦 Aubrey puts away the game-winner with just THREE seconds left in the match, vaulting #goJBU WSOC to a 2-0 record versus top-25 opponents this season!!
Posted by John Brown University Athletics on Friday, September 1, 2023
Olivet (0-1-1) leveled the match at one apiece off a fortunate bounce from a Golden Eagle defender's head, which sprung Marissa Anderson on a breakaway, taking on sophomore Regan Riley. Riley came out to pressure, but Anderson maneuvered to her left and deposited the tying shot into the empty goal with just over 15 minutes left in the match.
Both sides turned up the offense in the second half, combining for 14 shots after a largely defensive and possession contest in the first 45 minutes of play.
Senior Rachael Stone netted a gorgeously-placed strike in the 32nd minute to give the host team a 1-0 lead. Junior Renny Buchanan's kick upfield was perfectly flicked on by senior Lauren Walter, springing Stone into a one-on-one with ONU keeper Meegan Randall. Stone won the exchange by letting go a curving shot from the top of the 18 that navigated its way to the inside pocket of the right side of goal for her first of the season.
The Golden Eagles held a marked shooting advantage in the close contest, out-shooting the visiting Tigers by a 16-9 margin, led by Winters four attempts. The hosts also finished with a 3-1 margin in corner kicks.
Riley came up with three saves on four attempts, including a huge save in the 30th minute when ONU's Sara Loichinger quick-played a free kick just outside the Golden Eagle box. Despite still setting up the wall, Riley detected the cheeky attempt, and sprung to the opposite post quickly to collect the save. She moved to 3-0-0 on the season after finishing with a trio of saves.
Randall and Kowalski split time in goal for the Tigers, combining for five saves. Kowalski took the loss.
The Golden Eagles will now wrap up the John Brown University Classic on Saturday (Sept. 2) morning when JBU takes on Jamestown (N.D.) live on the SAC Sports Network. The clash is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m.
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