Oral Roberts Women's Soccer Falls In Overtime

The Lamar Cardinals moved into the second place spot in the Southland Conference Friday night at the Case Soccer Complex, as they converted a penalty kick just 58 seconds into the first overtime, topping the Oral Roberts women's soccer team, 2-1.

Shortly after the opening kick of the extra period, the Cardinals broke loose on a breakaway. Jannet Hernandez, waiting on the right side of the penalty box, received a pass from a teammate across the pitch. As she drove in, she was pulled down by the Golden Eagle keeper Helen Erb.

Erb was called for the foul, setting up the one-on-one opportunity for Hernandez for the "golden goal." The Lamar freshman had no problem blasting the ball under a diving Erb to send the home team off the field with the loss.

Unfortunately, for four Golden Eagle seniors, Whitney Booth, Allison Hall, Lauren Parks and Johanna Sheppard, the heartbreaking loss comes on the night when they were recognized for their contributions to the program on Senior Night.

Booth gave the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute for her second goal in three matches. Teammate Kayla Keller was credited with the assists on the goal by Booth, crossing the ball through the box, setting up Booth just outside the left post.

The Golden Eagles had several opportunities to put the ball in net throughout the match, just missing as Jennifer Abernathy hit the crossbar and the post, while Keller also had one that hit the bar all in the first half of play.

While the two squads did enter the locker room at intermission with the game scoreless, the Golden Eagles controlled the ball most of the way through, outshooting the Cardinals 9-2 in the first period. However, the Cardinals took controlled of the momentum in the second and in overtime, taking four more shots than the home team's eight.

In the 79th minute, the Cardinals tied the match at one, converting on a three shot sequence inside the box. Stephanie Miroballi had a couple of point blank opportunities that were knocked down by Erb, but the third time was a charm as Kristin Bos was waiting to net her ninth goal of the season.

Both Erb and Lamar keeper Bailey Fontenot finished with four saves. Erb's record drops to 9-5-2 on the season.

Ashley Martin led the Golden Eagles with four shots, three on free kicks, while Abernathy added three and Hall, Booth and Keller each had two. Mary-Kate Halsmer, Megan Giles, Tatum Lynn and Mariah Morgan all added a shot to the ORU total.

The Golden Eagle loss snaps a four match winning streak, and drops them to third in the Southland Conference. With two regular season matches remaining, the Golden Eagles are a game behind the Cardinals. However, Lamar still has to face the top squad in Stephen F. Austin on, and closes with a tough match against Sam Houston State.

Oral Roberts (10-5-2, 4-2-0) looks to rebound on Sunday afternoon at home against Southeastern Louisiana (9-6-1, 3-2-1). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Case Soccer Complex.