ASHLAND, Ohio – If there was ever a way to christen a sparkling new facility, this was it.
Senior forward Ashley Dragos (Falmouth, Maine/West Virginia Wesleyan) headed home a cross from freshman midfielder Tani Lopez (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) as time expired in the first overtime to send the Eagles to a thrilling 2-1 win over Drury in the first game ever played at Ferguson Field.
Lopez carried the ball down the left side as the clock scrolled under 10 seconds. She lifted a cross to Dragos, who was sprinting down the right side just inside the penalty box. Dragos knocked the ball to the keeper's right just as the clock struck 0:00 in the first overtime period. The Eagles' sideline erupted, and once the goal signal was given, tore after Dragos on the field.
"I saw the clock running down and yelled for Tani to pass it and I was able to head it in," Dragos said.
It is the first win for the Eagles in nearly a calendar year, their last win coming on Sept. 6, 2009, at Urbana. And it comes in the first game at Ferguson Field, just finished in April.
"We had only one intention," said first-year head coach Glenn Francis, coaching his first game at AU, "and that was to score there. It was going to be the last play of overtime and if we didn't score, we were willing to take our chances at the other end (in the second overtime)."
When asked if he had seen as dramatic a goal as that, he laughed: "Not at AU."
The Eagles, who finished 3-13-3 a year ago, opened the scoring in the 12th minute as senior midfielder Alicia VanZanten (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) volleyed a free-kick from freshman defender Melissa Hill (Medina, Ohio) into the left side of the net for the first goal at the new facility.
The Eagles held the ball well in the first half, displaying smart defense and only surrendering one shot (none on goal).
Freshman goalkeeper Karly Beuck (Lodi, Ohio/Cloverleaf) was tested in the second half, though, and came up with five saves in the second half.
"We played a little less confident on the ball in the second half, but we defended well enough to win," Francis said.
The Panthers tied the game in the 68th minute when Nicole Williams knocked an 18-foot shot over Beuck's head. Lindsey Sprouse assisted on the goal with a cross into the middle.
The Eagles nearly won the game in the 98th minute, but Dragos' shot to the right side was neatly nabbed by Drury goalkeeper Jessie Sanderson.
But in the end, Dragos put the game away. In dramatic fashion.
AU
WSOC/BB
