Bucknell University
UMBC
Late Strikes from Walker, Stokes Lead Bison Women's Soccer to Dramatic Win
9/2/2009 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2009
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Behind 1-0 after an own-goal and frustrated by a string of near misses late in the second half, the Bucknell women's soccer team pulled out a dramatic 2-1 win over visiting UMBC Wednesday night thanks to goals from Rosemary Walker (Oakland, Calif./The College Prep) and Brooke Stokes (Gladwyne, Pa./The Shipley School) in the final 4:46 of regulation. The dramatic victory came in the home opener at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium and was the first of the season for the Bison (1-2), while UMBC fell to 0-3.
A bit out of sync at the start, the Bison managed only one shot in the first 40 minutes of the match and went into halftime locked up in a scoreless battle. The Retrievers had the best scoring chance in the opening period when Danielle Kell struck the post with 12:30 remaining.
The Bison started to settle in after intermission, but a stunning development occurred in the 55th minute. UMBC's Aly Gazarek played a ball into the box on a corner kick, but a Bucknell defender came out from the near post to clear the ball away, but accidentally headed it back into the net for an own-goal.
Suddenly trailing for the first time in the game, Bucknell upped the intensity and dominated play the rest of the way. After the own-goal, the Bison outshot UMBC 13-2, but for awhile those shots were either turned aside by Mo Van Vlerah (seven saves) or slipped tantalizingly wide.
In the 61st minute Christa Matlack (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport Area), who led all players with eight shots on the night, drilled one off the crossbar after receiving a nice pass from freshman Jenna Tryon (Fairfax Station, Va./South County). Not long after, Matlack sent a sliding shot just wide, then she was in alone behind the defense but Van Vlerah darted out to take the ball off her foot.
With 19 minutes to play Van Vlerah made a save on Matlack, then with seven minutes left the UMBC keeper robbed Megan DeGennaro (Westlake Village, Calif./La Reina) on a 25-yard strike headed for the upper left corner.
Finally, in the 86th minute, Bucknell found the net, and it came from an unlikely source. Walker, a junior who had never registered a collegiate point, and who did not even enter the game for the first time until the 63rd minute, scored a highlight-reel goal. She maneuvered around four different defenders and sent a 15-yard shot from the left side of the box into the far side of the cage.
Now playing with confidence rather than desperation, Bucknell kept up the pressure and scored again on its very next shot just over three minutes later. Senior co-captain Molly Linhart (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) tracked down a ball to the left of the penalty area and sent a pass into the box. Freshman Kayla Yee (Centennial, Colo./Heritage) headed it forward, and Stokes, with her back to the goal, flicked it past a diving Van Vlerah for her third career tally.
Yee's assist marked her first career point, while Linhart collected her first point since the 2007 season after missing much of last year with an injury.
Senior keeper Kathryn Sutton (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville Area) went the distance and made four saves, three of them coming early in the second half.
Bucknell outshot UMBC 17-8 and defeated the Retrievers for the third year in a row.
The Bison will be back in action on Sunday at Duquesne before returning home again next Wednesday to face Saint Francis (Pa.) at 7 p.m.
