Creighton University
Northern Iowa
Late Goal Lifts Women's Soccer To 1-1 Tie With UNI
10/25/2009 4:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton sophomore Kelly Connolly scored on a corner kick with 36.1 seconds left to tie the score and help Creighton salvage a 1-1 tie with Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Morrison Stadium.
Connolly's fourth goal of the season came in the final minute of regulation off a corner kick. Erin Gunther delivered a perfect ball, and Connolly redirected it off the outstretched fingertips of UNI keeper Lauren Potzman just inside the far post. It was Gunther's third assist of the year.
Northern Iowa had taken a 1-0 lead midway through the second half after Chelsie Hochstedler was taken down while spinning around a Bluejay defender in the box. Hochstedler would then convert the penalty kick for her team-best fifth goal of the season, giving UNI the lead with 21:07 remaining.
"I was glad we fought all the way through to the end to get the final goal there, but we've got to finish our chances early," said Creighton coach Bruce Erickson. "That's what it came down to. We had two or three chances in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game and now the game becomes much more difficult. My hat's off to Northern Iowa. They got better as the game went on. They got more confident. They get a penalty kick to score and now we're chasing the game. Missed opportunities made the game difficult and to be honest, we were good enough on the day to pull out a tie."
Creighton had a pair of solid scoring chances in the overtime sessions, but could not find the back of the net. Beth Fyles had a shot from the top of the box that was blocked, and Potzman would make saves on attempts by Gunther and Emily Orbell in the final minute of the first OT as well. Fyles led all players with five shots in the match, while CU's Orbell and Connolly each had four attempts.
Creighton owned a 20-15 advantage on shots for the game, including 9-3 in the overtime sessions. Potzman made six saves while CU goalkeeper Kaitie Jo Swanson made nine saves.
Creighton moves to 10-5-2 on the year and is 2-2-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Northern Iowa is 2-11-3 (overall) and 0-5-1 (MVC) after snapping a nine-match losing streak.
Creighton closes the regular-season on Thursday when it plays at Evansville in a 7 pm match.
NOTES: Before Chelsie Hochstedler's goal, Creighton had played 412:42 since last allowing a goal at home ...Creighton is now 10-1-2 all-time against UNI ...Creighton's last tie in MVC regular-season play came on Oct. 5, 2007 in a scoreless contest with Missouri State ...Creighton seniors Kyla Hoskins, Mary Zapapas and Jordan Bruch were honored prior to the game as part of Senior Day festivities.
