Jamestown, N.D. – Vega Canada played hero with a game-winning goal with just four minutes left in the game as the University of Jamestown women's soccer team stunned the St. Cloud State Huskies with a 2-1 win at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Jimmies push themselves up to 2-4-1 and 2-2-0 in the Northern Sun. The Huskies fall to 2-3-2 and 1-2-1 in the conference.
SCSU had quite a bit of possession in the early stages of the first half. Jamestown was pinned back in their defensive end with the Huskies getting four shots off and
Taylor Musser making a couple of point-blank saves.
However, the Jimmies did not survive the onslaught much longer. In the 14
th minute, Emma Gott came down the left sideline and got into the Jamestown box. Gott made a move around a defender, then centered it to Lindsey Tarpino. Tarpino, right around the penalty hash mark, one-timed it into the bottom right of the Jamestown net for a 1-0 visitor lead.
A bit over a minute later,
Julliet Lopez took the ball into the right corner and with a defender draped all over her got off what looked to be a cross towards the net. The ball went off the fingertips of Huskies goalkeeper Jaylee Strickland and skitted into the lower left part of the net as UJ only trailed for 1:27 and got the game tied up at 1.
There was a scary moment for Jamestown in the 22
nd minute, where a good-looking shot from Gott with some nasty spin almost made the game 2-1, but it hit the left post and the Jimmies booted it away from the net.
Julliet Lopez had a deep look in a bit of a transition opportunity for Jamestown in the 30
th minute though this shot was blocked by a recovering Husky defender.
Jamestown was a bit behind in ball possession in the first half, but not by much, and Musser had to make one more save late in the first half. With the score at 1-1, halfway through the game, St. Cloud State had a 12-3 shots advantage and a 4-1 shots on goal edge.
The beginning of the second half looked a bit shaky from the home side with the Jimmies struggling to get the ball on the SCSU end of the field. After a plethora of shots and Husky corner kicks early in the half, Jamestown had a chance with a corner kick in the 64
th minute. The cross on the kick was sent out of the box, but
Emma Belyk wound up for a deep shot that was well high of the net. This was the first shot for the Jimmies in the half, and the only one they got for the next 16 minutes.
Lopez tested Strickland in the 82
nd minute off a shot from the top left corner of the box, although this was a contested shot and not a particularly tough save to make.
Into the 86
th minute when it looked like both teams were going to walk away with one point,
Vega Canada had other ideas. The play started with
Saige Gustafson winning a 50-50 ball near the right sideline about 40 yards out from the SCSU goal. Gustafson centered it to
Bre Oettle who sent a beautiful pass up towards the front of the Huskies box. Canada cut in front of her defender, and with very little time to get a shot off, kicked it with her left foot while running to her right. The shot initially looked like it was going to miss, but with Strickland way out of her net, the ball clanked the left post and went in as the Jimmies celebrated holding a lead for the first time in the game.
The Huskies need an equalizer late but did not get it. They had a very deep shot with 2:30 left in the game that was technically on net but easy enough for Musser to make her eighth save of the game. The Jimmies got to 2-2 in the conference with their first home win of the season in comeback fashion over SCSU.
Lopez took the team lead in goals with three total and heads into next weekend with three goals in her last four games. Canada, the leading scorer for the Jimmies a season ago, gets her first points of the season in the win with her first goal. Oettle got an assist on Canada's goal and Gustafson had her first-career point with a secondary assist on Oettle's tally. Musser got her first-career win in net posting eight saves on nine shots faced.
Shots on goal were controlled by the Huskies 9-4 while total shots were 23-7. The Huskies had seven corner kick attempts while Jamestown notched four.
Jamestown will look to win two in a row on Friday, September 25
th against the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons at 3 p.m.
