Langhorne, PA - The Cairn Highlanders trailed Clarks Summit 1-0 for 74 minutes before Courtney Novak centered a ball to Meghan Wilson in the 89th minute for the equalizer. The score came on Cairn's 37th shot of the match and capped a half that saw the Highlanders take 24 shots in search of that elusive equalizer. With the score tied the match turned to overtime. Amid a light rain that fell through the majority of the match, the Highlanders dodged a dangerous shot in the 94th minute from Clarks Summit's Anna Howell that snuck over the bar. Less than three minutes later the Highlanders struck with the golden goal off the foot of Novak.

Novak took a pass from Katie Ruitto and dribbled around the keeper on the left-side of the box and then finished for her sixth goal of the season.

The goal gave the Highlanders a 2-1 victory and ended the 2016 season on a high note.
 
The Highlanders fell into that early hole thanks to a breakaway goal from Heidi Depue in the 14th minute. Depue's goal came after the Highlanders had plenty of opportunities in the opening minutes to strike first. Courtney Novak had the best of the Cairn chances with five shots in the first seven minutes.
 
After Cairn took seven of the first nine shots and held a majority of the possession, the Defenders pushed forward on the counter and Depue found the back of the net for the early lead.
 
After the goal the Defenders turned the momentum in their favor and had a number of opportunities to double their lead. The best chance came in the 30th minute when Makenzi Kaiser hit the post with a shot.
 
Despite the Defenders taking five straight shots in a nine-minute window, the Highlanders did have chances at the end of the period. In the 33rd minute Meghan Wilson put the ball on her right foot and hit the left post with a strike.
 
After two late Cairn shots in the period went wide the score stood in favor of the Defenders 1-0 at halftime.
 
At the break the Highlanders held a slim 13-12 lead in shots, but that statistic shifted heavily in favor of the home team with a 24-2 second-half advantage. The Highlanders turned up the pressure after the break and made adjustments that helped them hold possession in the attacking third for large stretches of the second-half.
 
In the second-half the Highlanders sent shot after shot toward the cage searching for the equalizer. Natalie Lyon highlighted the effort with a pair of headers midway through the half. Lyon's first header grazed the top of the crossbar in the 68th minute and another sailed wide in the 70th minute.
 
In the 87th minute Meghan Wilson got passed a high backline for the Defenders and was one-one-one with the keeper. The Clark Summit keeper left her line and made a sliding stop about 30 yards out of the goal. She was given a red card for the stop outside the box with her hands and gave Cairn a chance at a free kick.
 
On the free kick, Katie Ruitto and sent a shot on frame that was knocked away and the deficit remained at one for the Highlanders.
 
Now playing a man up, the Highlanders continued to press and just two minutes later found the game tying goal in the 89th minute. Courtney Novak held the ball on the right-side and sent a ball square into the box for Meghan Wilson who finished from the center of the box with her left foot.
 
The goal was Wilson's 33rd of her career and she finishes her career with 33 goals in 33 games for Cairn.
 
With the score square at 1-1, the Highlanders and Defenders headed to overtime. Just minutes into the extra period, Novak had a shot from the left-side saved and the score remained level.
 
In the 94th minute, Clark Summit's Anna Howell had a wide-open run at the goal on a breakaway but her shot from just left of center went high.
 
In the 97th minute was the next and final chance for either side. Just above the box Katie Ruitto had a nice step over before playing a ball to Novak on the left-side of the box. Novak took a touch around the keeper that had vacated her line before finishing the match and the season with the golden goal.
 
In the match Cairn held a 40-15 advantage in shots. The 40 shots ties a season high for the Highlanders this season (40 shots vs. University of Valley Forge, Sept. 14, 2016).
 
Between the pipes, Payton Emerick made five saves while two Clark Summit goalies teamed up to make 12 saves.
 
As mentioned, the match ends the Highlanders season as well as the careers of Meghan Wilson and Hannah Morrison. The duo was honored prior to Thursday's match by the women's soccer program for their dedication to the program over their time in Langhorne.
 
The win improves the Highlanders to 6-9-1 on the season and 3-7-1 in the CSAC.