CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- After 110 minutes of play, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team battled Gardner-Webb to a 3-3 double-overtime tie on a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (1-0-1) got the scoring started with a penalty kick called when Chattanooga's keeper Taylor Mangrum (Franklin, Tenn.) was called for a foul inside the box while going after the ball. Megan Curan sized up the goal and put GWU on top at the 7:17 mark of the game.
Chattanooga (1-1-1) got into the scoring column on Crystal Mackezyk's first collegiate goal. The freshman from Columbia, Tenn., took a throw in from sophomore Kelly Crew (Brisbane, Australia) and spun around to her right, firing the shot from the top of the box knotting the match 1-1 in the 26th minute.
With several scoring opportunities around the goal, the Mocs capitalized on a deflection to take the lead. Junior Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) drilled the ball from about five yards out and it ricocheted off the post and deflected off a GWU player. From there, UTC's Laure Wilson (Columbia, Tenn.) blasted the ball into the net and the Mocs led 2-1 in the 28th minute.
"We're hungry and going after goals," UTC Head Coach J.D. Kyzer said. "We created opportunities and took advantage of them. We were able to attack and possess better today."
In the 35th minute, the Bulldogs tied it up when Curan scored her second goal of the directing a header into the goal off a corner kick from Stephanie Benshoof. Both teams headed into the lockerroom at the break with a 2-2 tie.
In the second half, the Bulldogs were called for a foul and Smith lined up on the right side for the free kick. She sent the shot over the line of defenders and past the outstretched hand of the GWU keeper into the upper right corner of the net to put the Mocs up 3-2 in the 46th minute.
That lead would last just 21 minutes before Gardner-Webb leveled the match on a slow roller into the net. Megan Reimer passed the ball across the field to Ele Margelos who was battling a defender as Mangrum charged the ball. The ball, however, was slowly kicked past the keeper and rolled softly into the net.
After ending regulation with a tie, the two teams battled through two overtimes with no score and concluded with a 3-3 tie.
"There are so many things we need to work on," Kyzer said. "So many little, tiny mistakes that, unfortunately cost us goals. We did a lot of really good things today. We possessed the ball better and we capitalized on the opportunities we had."
The Mocs will host Lipscomb this Friday night at GPS while Davenport Field is undergoing some maintenance. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at the GPS soccer field along the Tennessee River. Admission is free. Check GoMocs.com for directions.
SCORING SUMMARY:
1 7:17 GWU Megan Curan (1) Penalty kick
2 25:45 UTC Crystal Mackezyk (1) Kelly Crew
3 27:18 UTC Lauren Wilson (1) unassisted
4 34:23 GWU Megan Curan (2) Stephanie Benshoof
5 46:00 UTC Becca Smith (3) unassisted
6 58:12 GWU Ele Margelos Megan Reimer
