Indiana State Edges Cougars in Overtime

September 4, 2011

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Seyma Enrenli’s header in the 4^th minute of overtime lifted Indiana State to a 3-2 win Sunday afternoon in women’s soccer at Korte Stadium.

Erenli got her head on a cross from teammate Alison Gasparovich to beat Lovercheck. The play initialized on a throw in from Natalie Vaught.

“It’s tough to lose a game when you feel like you have the better game and don’t get the goals that you think are there,” SIUE Head Coach Derek Burton said. “We got behind but the girls showed a tremendous amount of fight and heart. We just came up a little short.”

The goal ended a game that featured six cautions and thee ejections. The Sycamores ended the game with just nine players on the field.

Casey Allbright put the Sycamores, 2-4, on the board in the 32^nd minute. Allbright took a pass from Jessica Rosenberg and lofted it over SIUE goalkeeper Lovercheck to make it 1-0. The half could have gone worse for the Cougars. Indiana State, which outshot SIUE 10-3 in the first half, had shots hit the post and crossbar in the period.

SIUE, 1-2, meanwhile dominated play from the opening minutes of the second half. Just two minutes into the half, the Cougars were given a free kick from just outside the box. Kristen Dierker got off a shot that went just over the goal. Three minutes later off another free kick, Kaci Harkey got her head on a ball, but missed just wide of the goal.

With 24 minutes to play Sarah Doggendorf got free for a shot, but her attempt ringed off the crossbar.

SIUE finally found the back of the net in the 71^st minute. Devon Thomas evened the score at 1-1 when she got her head on a long throw ifrom Kourtney Price. The goal was the first of the year for Thomas. Thomas had an opportunity to put the Cougars up two minutes later on a penalty kick, but rolled the shot wide left.

“Kourtney has a good throw. It was difficult today with the wind swirling,” Burton said. “To Devon’s credit, she went up, got a piece of it, and it’s dangerous whenever it works.”

Natalie Vaught took advantage of a Cougar error to get back on top late. Vaught picked off a pass near the top of the box then beat Lovercheck to put Indiana State up 2-1 in the 87^th minute.

SIUE evened the match again with a free kick in the 90^th minute. Michelle Auer played a quick re-start to Meagan Iffrig who tied the game with a right-foot shot with only 19 seconds remaining on the clock.

SIUE outshot Indiana State 24-14 for the match. Lovercheck made six saves for SIUE, while ISU goalkeeper Emily Lahay made 10 saves for the Sycamores.

The Cougars head back on the road for a game at Northern Iowa Friday. Game time in Cedar Falls, IA is 7 p.m.