Box Score JOLIET, Ill. — Despite a Melanie Drinkwater goal to tie the game in the 78th minute, a goal with 46 seconds to go sunk the Goshen College women's soccer team in a 2-1 loss at the University of St. Francis (Ill.) Wednesday evening.
The hosting Saints scored with 14:38 left before halftime when Leslie Rueda took a pass from Kayla Paeth to beat the Goshen defense out of a 2-on-1 attack. USF held a significant, but not insurmountable lead with seven of the 10 first-half shots: two of Goshen's three attempts were on target, but the Maple Leafs did not score before the intermission.
In the second half, the shot advantage grew, with St. Francis taking 19 tries at the frame to Goshen's three. The Saints also racked up 14 corner kicks over the course of the match.
Against that backdrop, Melanie Drinkwater scored her fifth goal of the season with 11:37 to play. The junior broke away from the defense on a solo run and scored her 12th career goal, setting a new single-season personal best in the process.
But St. Francis was not content to let the game go to overtime, and in the 90th minute, the Saints' Alyssa Hudik fired from distance. The shot bounced behind the Maple Leaf defense and squirted past the goalkeeper for the deciding score.
Natalie Thorne went the distance in goal for Goshen and made a season-high 11 saves. Her counterparts, Jessica Kiely and Bethany Dombkowski, combined for three saves in one half each.
Goshen's record drops to 4-3 on the season with a pair of games remaining before conference play. The Maple Leafs host Cornerstone University at 7 p.m. Saturday night: since that is Goshen's final non-conference home game, the program's six seniors will be honored on Senior Night.
More, including comments from Goshen head coach Scott Gloden, to come when available.
