Waves’ Williams Nets OT Winner to Sink Titans
Pepperdine freshman Lynn Williams scored twice, including the "golden goal" game-winner with less than four minutes to play in the first overtime period, to lift her side to a 2-1 extra-time victory over host Cal State Fullerton on Friday night at Titan Stadium.
Williams' game-winner in the 97th minute of the match came after a long run, outracing a pair of defenders and launching an untouchable ball from 35 yards out to the upper left corner of the net to end the match. The dramatic strike came just seven minutes after she had tied the match for Pepperdine (3-0 overall), knocking home the rebound off her own free kick from just outside the penalty area with 45 seconds to play in regulation.
Junior Stacey Fox had finally given Fullerton (1-1-1 overall) the lead as sophomore Summer Chavez streaked down the right side and sent a ball across the top of the penalty area that was flicked back to Fox by teammate Jennifer Smith. Fox then took a touch and fired across the box to the right post, past a diving Roxanne Barker in net for the 1-0 lead.
Fullerton had a chance right out of the gate in the second half as sophomore Erica Mazeau's cross into the 6-yard box was fumbled away by the keeper to the feet of sophomore Nikki McCants, but the Titans' goal scoring leader could never get a solid foot on the ball as two defenders pushed it away from harm.
Pepperdine then responded a few minutes later with a golden chance of its own as Amanda LeCave took a ball away from the Titans' defense in Fullerton's defensive third, drawing out goalkeeper Lindsey Maricic, but LeCave pushed it wide right from the top of the box.
The Waves outshot the Titans, 15-9, and had nine corners to just four for Fullerton, all nine coming before the Titans' first of the night in the 78th minute. Williams accounted for almost half of Pepperdine's shots, taking a match-high seven on the night, while Fox was the leader for Fullerton with three.
Maricic was credited with four saves on the night while Barker finished with a pair for the Waves.
Friday night's match was played in front of a season-high 845 fans -- the eighth-largest crowd in school history and the most for a women's soccer match since the Titans and Long Beach State drew 1,187 fans on Oct. 25, 2006, in a nationally televised Fox Soccer Channel match-up.
Cal State Fullerton returns to the pitch on Labor Day weekend as the Titans head to Utah for a pair of matches in the Beehive State. Fullerton opens the weekend on Friday night (Sept. 2) at BYU at 6 p.m. PT before taking on Utah State on Sunday (Sept. 4) at 12 p.m. PT.
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