Langhorne, PA - After each team connected on penalty kick attempts in the early portion of the second-half the Goucher Gophers connected on a shot from the right-side in the 86th minute to take a 2-1 lead. The Highlanders could not muster a shot in the final four minutes and Goucher came away with the victory in a physical match on Tuesday afternoon.

The Highlanders and Gophers each had opportunities throughout the first-half however neither team dented the scoreboard through the first 45 minutes. The Highlanders first quality opportunity came in the 21st minute when they were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Unfortunately the chance was thwarted when the free kick went right into the wall and was cleared out of danger.

Just a minute later, the Gophers had a free kick from a similar position but could not put a dangerous look on goal from the chance and the score remained tied at 0-0.

In the 23rd minute Brenden Keller had a run for the Highlanders down the right side. He cut back toward the top corner of the box and fired a shot with his left foot that skipped into the goalie's waiting hands on the near post.

The match remained scoreless into the second-half when Cairn held a strong run of play immediately following the break. During this run of play, the game game turned more physical. Along with the up-tick in physical play were an increase in questionable calls on the field. Two of the more questioned calls came in the 57th and 61st minutes. Both of these calls resulted in penalty kicks.

The first was award to the highlanders after the referee ruled that Brett Kikendall was pushed off his run from the right-side of the box. Kikendall calmly stepped up and buried his penalty kick to give the Highlanders the 1-0 lead. As mentioned, Goucher was awarded a penalty kick just four minutes later on a similar call. Goucher's  Scott Mt. Pleasent connected on the kick and tied the score at 1-1.

Following the Goucher penalty kick the two foes played 26 minutes of scoreless soccer. With overtime looming less than ten minutes away the Gophers' Ryan Belluch had a run down the right-side that ended in a shot from just inside the box. The shot slipped past Cairn keeper Mark Heater and gave Goucher their first lead of the match at 2-1, a score they would hold onto for the victory.

Cairn could not generate an attack over the final four minutes and Goucher took the match 2-1 and improved to 5-2-3 on the season.

Brett Kikendall led the Highlanders with four shots, including two attempts on frame. Kikendall also scored the lone goal for the Highlanders with the penalty kick.

With the loss Cairn completes their non-conference schedule going 4-5-1 through their first 10 games. Cairn will kick off their CSAC conference slate when they host Neumann University on Homecoming at 3:00 p.m.