The Golden Eagle soccer team continued conference play last Sunday but fell short in a Senior Day loss in overtime to Eastern Illinois University.
The game was dominated by defense throughout the first 45 minutes.
“With an even score at the half, it was anybody’s game at that point,” junior midfielder Emily Homan said.
The second half was full of quick goal scoring by both teams.
Junior forward Ellie Iaciofano’s terrific season continued Sunday.
Iaciofano scored her seventh goal of the season with an assist from senior forward Andrea Meloff at 48:01 to give Tech a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after that, Iaciofano scored her conference leading eighth goal of the season at 67:23 for what was believed to be some insurance for the Golden Eagles, giving them a 2-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois had not scored a goal since Sept. 9 and had a 1-5 record throughout the month.
Coming off a 1-0 win last Friday against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and knowing of the Panthers’ woes of late, the Golden Eagles were looking to sweep the weekend.
“Our confidence increased after the second goal was scored but almost too much,” Iaciofano said. “We got too comfortable with the score.”
The Panthers picked up on this and made other plans for the turnout of this game.
Freshman Panther Bianca Navejas scored her first goal of her career at 71:34 to cut the Golden Eagle lead to one.
The Panther’s senior forward Kristin Germann scored her fourth goal of the season, tying the game 2-2 at 87:33.
At the end of regulation, the Golden Eagles and the Panthers were still tied, going into extra time. Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, this wouldn’t last long.
Less than 6 minutes into overtime, the freshman Panther Hannah Miller scored her first goal of her career, and the winning goal, at 95:54.
The win last Friday and the heartbreaking loss Sunday put the Golden Eagles at 1-2 in conference play for the season.
“We can’t look at the loss as a reflection on our weekend as a whole,” Homan said.
The season will go on as the Golden Eagles head to Murray State University Oct. 5 and Eastern Kentucky University Oct. (fujifilm-x) 7 before returning home Oct. 14 to take on the newest addition to the Ohio Valley Conference, the Belmont Bruins.
