Women’s soccer begins the season with three straight wins for the first time since 2003

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 24, 2012) – The late-game dramatics of the ETSU women’s soccer team were on display again Friday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium, as the Lady Bucs defeated Presbyterian, 3-2, in overtime courtesy of a golden goal by redshirt sophomore Andie Stone (Austin, Texas).

After Presbyterian (0-2-0) equalized the game with 2:17 remaining in regulation, ETSU dominated the overtime period and didn’t take long to put the game away. Junior Samantha Kron (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) sent in a corner in the 93rd minute which Stone won in the air and put in the left side of the net to claim the Lady Bucs’ third straight win to start the 2012 season.

“It was a great feeling to score the game-winner,” said Stone, who transferred to ETSU from the University of San Francisco at the end of last season. “Emilee [Engelhaupt] had said it was coming, and when Sam [Kron] played the ball across it dropped at my feet.”

Ramey Kerns (Kings Mountain, N.C.) was the highlight of the first half, scoring twice within a six-minute span. The junior leads ETSU with three goals so far this season, while freshman Sarah Zadrazil (St. Gilgen, Austria) has tallied three assists, including one against Presbyterian, to lead the team in that category.

For the game, ETSU outshot Presbyterian 22-10, and took nine corners while holding PC to none.

“I’m very happy with the result tonight and I’m very proud of the team,” ETSU head coach Adam Sayers said. “What I’m most happy with is how we responded to conceding the two goals. We started the game very well and created several chances before [Presbyterian] got the early goal, but we maintained our composure, were patient in possession and continued to create chances.”

Presbyterian’s early goal came off the foot of Stephanie Allen, who found space between freshman keeper Sierra Campbell (Thompson’s Station, Tenn.) and the left post to put the Blue Hose ahead in the eighth minute.

It didn’t take ETSU long to respond. Less than 15 minutes after PC’s goal, Kerns won a ball around the penalty area and found herself one-on-one with Presbyterian keeper Jordan Broadway. As Broadway stepped out, Kerns fired a shot in the lower left corner to equalize the game.

The Kings Mountain, N.C. native’s next shot put the Lady Bucs ahead. Less than six minutes after leveling the game, Kerns was fed a cross from near the far-left goal line by Zadrazil, and capitalized by burying another shot in the left side of the net to give ETSU a, 2-1, lead in the 27th minute.

At the half, ETSU held the shot advantage, 11-5, and took three of its nine corners in the game.

The second half played closer, as Presbyterian took five more chances at Campbell who made four saves in the game. The Lady Bucs took many chances of their own, firing eight shots in the half and forcing Broadway into making three second-half saves.

With time winding down in regulation, the Blue Hose found their second goal with 2:17 remaining. Sophie Cobb played a cross in from the left side, and Tori Lopez headed in her second goal of the year to level the game once again, 2-2.

ETSU was then called upon to bounce back once again, just as it did in Asheville, N.C. on Sunday when the Bulldogs tied the game in the final minutes of regulation. Unlike Sunday, the Lady Bucs wouldn’t need two 10-minute sessions to end this one, as Stone rocked the Summers-Taylor Stadium crown of 1,070 with the game-winner two and a half minutes in.

“I thought we started the overtime period very well,” Sayers added. “We put Presbyterian under pressure immediately, got a series of corners and scored from one of those.”

Off to its first 3-0 start since 2003, the ETSU women’s soccer team will go for another on Sunday when it brings in Radford at 1 p.m.

For more information on ETSU women’s soccer please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer links.