LORETTO, Pa. (Sept. 10, 2010) – Sophomore
Tesa McKibben (Cogan Station, Pa./Montoursville) (Cogan Station, Pa. / Montoursville) scored a beautiful golden goal to help lead the Saint Francis women's soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over in-state rival Bucknell on Friday afternoon at the Stokes Soccer Complex.
McKibben dribbled the ball from near the left sideline into the middle of the field. She then released a rocket from 18 yards out into the upper right-hand corner of the goal to begin the celebration for the Red Flash at 98 minutes, 8 seconds.
SFU improved to 4-2-1 on the season, and is now 2-0-1 in its last three games. The Red Flash will return to action with a 4 p.m. home contest next Friday vs. St. Peter's. The Saint Francis win over the Bison was just the third in the series. The Red Flash improved to 3-14-1 all-time versus Bucknell.
The Bison, who dropped to 1-5 on the season, got on the board first on after a long punt deflected off a Red Flash foot and over the defense. Christa Matlack raced in on goal with an SFU defender chasing, but she was able to put the ball into the lower right-hand corner for a 1-0 Bucknell lead at 5:05.
Saint Francis finally tied it up at 15:48 when senior
Haleigh Dunyon (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson) (Long Beach, Calif. / Woodrow Wilson) touched a pass to freshman
Barbara Maros de Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Sagrado Coraco de Jesus) (Sao Paulo, Brazil / Colegio Sagnado Conaco de Jesus) just inside the 18-yard box. Maros de Carvalho dribbled past a defender and hammered the ball into the right side from 10 yards out.
Both teams had key opportunities in the closing minutes of regulation. McKibben had a good look at the net with 21 minutes to go, but shot just wide. Sophomore goalkeeper
Brianna Butcher (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) (East Longmeadow, Mass. East Longmeadow) made a terrific diving save of a shot with 13:05 to go. McKibben was then robbed of another goal with 10:30 remaining.
The Red Flash held a 19-11 advantage in shots, while Bucknell held advantages in corner kicks (6-5) and fouls (12-8). Butcher got the win by making three saves in relief of senior goalkeeper
Lauren Fearer (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant Area) (Mount Pleasant, Pa. / Mount Pleasant).
Sandita McDermott stopped seven shots for the Bison.
