"I'm really proud of the way we battled back and were able to come away with the overtime victory," said head coach Julie Woodward. "It was great to have Ava get her first career goal, and both her and Monique (Escalera) were great sparks for us and had great second halves."
The Redhawks took an early 1-0 lead off an Eastern Washington own goal in the 10th minute. Emma Levy (Sammamish, Wash.) was the last SU player to control the ball before the goal was scored. She had three shots in the game, including one on target, in the game. The Eagles were unable to contain the immediate Seattle U pressure, as the team tallied 11 shots to EWU's five in the first half alone.
Seattle U's offense put a lot of pressure on the Eastern backline in the contest. In the game SU posted 28 shots to EWU's 13, with 15 shots on goal to the Eagles 10. Despite six shots from Kara Kuttler (Redmond, Wash.) and four on goal by Ames, SU was unable to extend their lead in regulation.
The Eagles were able to bounce back from their early deficit late in the second half. Behind 25 different players seeing action in the game, including a 'keeper change, EWU evened the score in the 71st minute when Hannah Scott assisted on Whitney Brannan's goal. The late defensive breakdown was too much for the Seattle U offense, as they were unable to get the ball into the back of the net before the clock reached the 90 minute mark.
The game marked the Redhawks first overtime minutes of the season. In the first 10 minute extra period SU tallied four shots, including a pair on goal, but the Eagles second goalkeeper of the night Jamie Walker was able to post the pair of saves. On the other end of the field Eastern got off three shots; however Redhawk 'keeper Madison Goverde (Snohomish, Wash.) saved the only ball that was on target. In the game she posted nine saves for a season-high.
After the first overtime period concluded, both squads went out for the final 10 minutes of action. Freshman Monique Escalera (Riverside, Calif.), who had three shots in the game, continued to play solidly in the backline and helped work the ball into the EWU box. As the clock wound down, junior Kassandra Riozzi (Marysville, Wash.) served up an assist to an oncoming Ames. Ames received the ball 15 yards out and shot it on the ground to the far post to score the game-winner at 108:14.
Behind the double overtime thriller, SU will get back into action at home this Sunday, Sept. 5, when Gonzaga comes to town. The Bulldogs play UC Irvine prior to heading to the Emerald City.