WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William and Mary women's soccer team scored a pair of unanswered goals, capped off by senior
Dani Rutter's golden goal in the 97th minute, defeating in-state rival Radford, 2-1, on Tuesday night at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field.
William and Mary improves to 3-1-2 on the season, while Radford suffered its first loss of the year and drops to 4-1-1.
Radford wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, registering the game's first goal in the fourth minute. Shahar Aflaki fired a shot that was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Casey, but the rebound bounced to Melanie Priestley. Priestley controlled the ball and scored into the open net. The tally lifted the Highlanders to a 1-0 lead.
The Tribe controlled the majority of the possession for the rest of the match. In the 14th minute, W&M had a pair of chances off of a corner kick. Junior Emory Camper fired a shot, but a Highlander defender stepped in front of the would-be-goal, earning the team save. The rebound, bounced right to senior Ali Heck, but her shot was also turned away by a Radford defender.
William and Mary continued to pressured and looked like they had knotted the match in the 39th minute. Rutter drove the box and launched a shot off of the cross bar and the rebound bounced out of bounds. The Green and Gold's final look of the half came in the 45th minute on a shot by sophomore Katie Johnston, however her shot was saved by Radford goalkeeper Che' Brown.
In the 48th minute W&M found the equalizer. Rutter sent a cross into the box that slipped past the Radford defense. Sophomore Barbara Platenberg was able to get a foot on it and score the game-tying goal. It was the first goal of the season for Platenberg.
The Tribe continued to mount its offensive attack, but could not find the game-winner in regulation. In the second half, William and Mary outshot Radford 16-4, including a 3-0 advantage in shots on goal.
In overtime, William and Mary fired the only four shots of the period, including the game-winning goal. Platenberg collected the ball at the top of the box in the 97th minute. She then dished off to Rutter, who drove the right side box, shot the ball off of the left post and into the net. The tally, which was the first goal of the season for Rutter, lifted the Tribe to a 2-1 victory.
For the match, the Green and Gold outshot Radford 38-7, including a 11-2 advantage in shots on goal. The 38 shots are a new Martin Family Stadium record, surpassing the previous record of 34 shots set in 2004 against Drexel.
William and Mary returns to Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field on Friday, Sept. 20 against Penn at 7 p.m. The Tribe will then hit the road on Sunday, Sept. 22 to take on Princeton at 1 p.m.
