CEDAR CITY, Utah -- With only one Big Sky weekend remaining after Sunday, the match in Cedar City, Utah proved to be a battle between two teams looking to gain position in the postseason race. Northern Colorado was able to move into a tie for second in the conference with a 2-1 overtime win over Southern Utah at Thunderbird Park Complex.

The Bears (8-5-3, 4-2-1 Big Sky) stood one point out of fourth place before Sunday and a win could move the team into a tie for second. The Thunderbirds (5-10-1, 2-4-1 Big Sky) sat four points behind Idaho State in fourth entering Sunday's match and needed a win to move into a tie for fifth.

Two young athletes who have been around the ball the entire 2013 season helped put the Bears in a favorable position going into the final conference weekend of the regular season. Freshmen Shanlie Anderson and Katherine Day scored their third and first goals of the season, respectively.

"It's always great to get three points on the road," head coach Tim Barrera said. "Southern Utah plays hard and that is a tough place to play."

The Bears began the scoring opportunities right away as the team kicked the first four shots. Two of the shots were saved with the final of the four coming in the 22nd minute. The Thunderbirds took advantage of ball security through the remainder of the period. SUU put up five shots to enter halftime, two of which were saved by the Bears' keeper Natalie D'Adamio.

After entering the second half shooting again, it was the 73rd minute when Anderson's goal scored to take the lead. The unassisted hustle goal is the freshman's third of the season.

"Shanlie was playing hard and was able to sneak it in," Barrera said. "We scored to go up 1-0 and (Southern Utah) had chances after that."

The blow that would cost the Bears the lead and its starting goalkeeper D'Adamio struck in the 82nd minute. The fifth-year senior attempted to go after a ball near the edge of the penalty box and unexpectedly ran into a Thunderbird attacker. D'Adamio was given a red card, which meant she was ejected from the game and will be suspended one game as well. The Bears field players were lowered to 10 for the remainder of the game as well. Since the foul was inside the penalty box, Sabrina Hernandez took a penalty kick and tied the game at one.

"We got kind of caught with the red card and penalty kick," Barrera said. "To have the momentum go the other way after losing a player is tough. The (Bears) kept working and eventually got the free kick in overtime."

The free kick was the one that assisted the game-winning shot by Day. Senior Ambree Bellin put the kick into play after a foul by SUU in the 96th minute. The ball found its way to Day who sent the game-winner past the keeper for her first score of the season and to set the overtime final at 2-1.

"When you go down a man it's always the question of whether to keep three in the front and go for the win," Barrera said. "That's what we did and it paid off."

Both teams totaled the same shot numbers with 12 each. D'Adamio saved four shots compared to the Thunderbirds' keeper Tessa Christensen with three. The Bears also led in corner kick opportunities, 7-2. Bellin tallied her fourth assist of the season on the final goal.

The Bears sit in a tie for second in the Big Sky conference and need just one win this coming weekend to qualify for the postseason tournament. UNC will play host to Weber State, in a tie with UNC for second in the Big Sky, on Friday and Idaho State on Sunday. ISU is sitting on the outside of the postseason looking in while in fifth place.

"Being able to dig this one out says a lot of our players," Barrera said. "We will prepare tough for our home games where we usually do well. The focus is to go out and get the first game, and take it one game at a time. (Goalkeeper) Marisa (Cooper) will be getting the start with Natalie being suspended, but (Cooper) will step in and we are looking for good things out of her."

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