AVE MARIA, Fla. - Despite scoring first, the USCB women's soccer team slipped in double overtime, 2-1, to Sun Conference foe Ave Maria on Saturday afternoon at Gyrene Field. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Madeline Matusik - one goal (second of season), four shots, one shot on goal

Lexi Kaeser - two shots, two shots on goal

Madison Foshee - two shots, one shot on goal

Shutout streak snapped at 270 minutes

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first half was neck-and-neck, as neither team was able to find the net. USCB had the clear upper hand in possession, as it ripped seven shots in the first half with four being on goal. Four different Sand Sharks took shots at goal in Kaeser, Foshee, Navie Webb and Abbey Recser. 

USCB's defense was stout in the first half, as it limited AMU to just two shots in the first 45-minute session.

After the 15-minute halftime break, USCB quickly broke the scoreless tie, as Matusik rippled the back of the net in the 49th minute. Matusik worked past a Gyrene defender, and she then connected with a shot that found the twine. Her second goal of the year gave USCB the 1-0 advantage. 

Both teams started to exchange chances at goal, as USCB connected with two shots on goal to AMU's one shot on goal for the next 29 minutes. Unfortunately in the 78th minute, AMU's Jeanine Sullivan knotted the game at 1-1. Sullivan earned the Gyrene's first goal of the match off a corner, as she lobbed the ball over USCB's goalkeeper.

Just two minutes later, Ave Maria nearly put the game out of hand, but Mariah Ruckdeschel recorded her third save of the game to keep it a 1-1 match and to force it into overtime. 

This was the first overtime game of the year for USCB. 

In the first 10-minute, golden-goal period, AMU connected with two shots, as Emily Dalton took both shots. Despite the efforts at goal, neither attempt found the net to force a second overtime session.

USCB missed on two looks at goal in the second overtime period, and Ave Maria took advantage in the 107th minute. Off a corner, Dalton recorded her team-leading 10th goal of the 2020 season. Dalton headed in the ball to give her team the 2-1 win over USCB.

POSTGAME INTERVIEW



TEAM RECORD UPDATES

USCB - 3-2 overall, 3-2 Sun Conference

Ave Maria - 5-3 overall, 3-3 Sun Conference

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Sand Sharks will play their final regular season home game on Wednesday, Oct. 28, as they host nationally-ranked Southeastern for an 11 a.m. kickoff at Fin Land Field. The contest will be broadcasted on the Sand Shark Gameday Network on the Sun Conference Digital Network.