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Highlanders’ Second Half Rally Ties Marshall; Best Start Since 1997 |
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Written by RUHighlanders.com
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Monday, 08 September 2008 |
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Huntington, WVa.- Freshman Ashley Johnson (Springfield, Va.) scored with 1:03 left in regulation capping a two-goal comeback as Radford tied Marshall, 2-2, on the final day of the Thundering Herd Nike Classic. Freshman Lisa Lubke (Columbus, Ohio) also contributed to the comeback making a career high 12 saves with eight coming after halftime.
With the tie, the Highlanders remain undefeated at 2-0-2 as do the Thundering Herd. Radford’s start is its best since 1997 when it got out of the gates with a 4-0 record. Radford also won the tournament after two tiebreakers. Radford and the Citadel each went 1-0-1 and both were plus-three in goal differential, but the Highlanders gave up one less goal than the Bulldogs. Senior McKenzie Vergara (Chester, Va.) started the comeback with a goal 3:55 into the second half. She headed home a direct kick by junior Justine Dugger (Purcellville, Va.) into the top right corner, cutting Marshall’s lead in half to 2-1. It was Vergara’s team best third tally of the season. Over the next 39 minutes, Marshall attempted to put the game away with nine shots, but Lubke (pictured) was up to the task making five saves. Junior Jill Boyer (Severn, Md.) also helped out, clearing the ball off the goal line on a Herd corner kick less than two minutes after Vergara’s tally. Those defensive plays allowed Johnson to net the game-tying goal. Freshman Melony Davis (Ashburn, Va.) set up the play, knocking a through ball that Johnson was able to get a foot on as two Herd defenders and the keeper converged. Her shot trickled into the goal from about 20 yards out. Marshall out shot Radford 4-1 in the overtime sessions, but Lubke stopped all four shots to preserve the tie. In the opening stanza, Marshall pressured Radford’s defense with 15 shots and it took a 2-0 lead into the half on goals by Missy Gordon and Erika Duncan in the 23rd and 30th minute respectively. Radford struggled much of the half, taking just two shots. For the match, the Thundering Herd out shot the Highlanders, 29-9 and had a 12-2 advantage in corner kicks. Liz Orton made three saves for Marshall. The Highlanders return to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 12 when they host Concord University at 4 p.m. |
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