George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
<strong>American</strong>
GW Women Win Another Wild One
9/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC -The George Washington University women's soccer team, who are seemingly developing a flair for the dramatic, defeated American University 2-1 Tuesday afternoon at Mount Vernon Field. For GW, it was third straight win at home, and their second victory that required late-game heroics.
The match began as a back-and-forth affair, with a majority of the play occurring near midfield - in the first 45 minutes, the team combined to take just three shots. In the 36th minute, however, George Washington seized their best scoring opportunity of the first half by taking advantage of an American foul. Sophomore Lauren Kelly, positioned just outside the top-left corner of the box, sent her free kick - a high, bending delivery - to the far right corner of the goal. It was there that the pass was met, in the air, by sophomore Kerry Philbin (3), who headed it home for the 1-0 Colonial lead. It was Kelly's third assist of the year, tops on the team.
"That was a great way to get on the scoreboard," said Head Coach Tanya Vogel. "Just an awesome goal."
The score remained 1-0 in favor of GW until the 63rd minute of the second half. It was then that American senior Meg Runeari blasted a shot from just outside the top, right half of the box. The ball soared into the top left corner of the net, just past the outstretched arms of GW keeper, Amie Kern. It looked as though the Eagles were set to score another goal and leave Mount Vernon Field a winner when, in the 85th minute, senior Jana Lee slipped by the Colonial defense and set her sights on the back of the net. Just as she started to make her attack, junior defender Kierra Colker make a great tackle to steal the ball from Lee, preventing a possible goal.
On the counter, GW stormed down the field, clearly not content with the idea of the game ending in a 1-1 tie. Just outside the top of the box, sophomore Meg Pyle lined up her shot, waiting for just the right moment. She let fire, sending a high arching blast on net. American keeper Allison Doyle met the ball just below the crossbar and managed to deflect it with her hands; but the shot proved too strong, as the ball crawled over the tops of her fingers, before landing just over the goal line. It was Pyle's team-leading third game-winning goal of the season, and her fourth overall.
Down by a score, American launched a furious attack in vain attempt to earn the equalizer before time expired, but George Washington's defense, namely the back four of sophomore Christy Mazzola, Colker, senior Shari Taylor, and sophomore Lauren Kelly, proved ready for the challenge. American gave the Colonial fans and players - and coaches, no doubt - a scare in the 89th minute, but Colker made another game-saving play, this time clearing a loose ball as it bounced dangerously close to the goal line. That would be as close as American would come to forcing overtime as GW held on for their first win over American since 2003.
"This was another great team win for us today," Vogel said after the match. "The whole squad played well, especially the middle line (junior Nicole Trickett, Philbin, and sophomore Keara Mehlert).
"This truly was a whole 12-person victory - the 11 girls on the field and then the GW crowd behind us."
On Sunday, GW needed extra time to defeat Vermont, 2-1, with the winning goal coming on a Colker headed in the 98th minute. With six wins in their first nine games, George Washington has already surpassed last season's win total of five.
The Colonials will look to continue their winning ways next Tuesday when the play host to Rider at Mount Vernon Field. The match, originally scheduled for 3:00 p.m., will now start at 4:00 p.m.
