CHAMBERSBURG, PA – The Cairn University Women's Soccer team was on the road Tuesday afternoon as they faced the No. 2 seeded Wilson College Phoenix. The Highlanders advanced on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw.
Cairn (7-5-4 / 5-4-2 United East Skye Division) was in the scoring column first as senior defender
Grace Miller (Chapel Hill, NC / Central Bucks West) floated a shot over the jumping Phoenix goalkeeper in the 10
th minute. Wilson (14-4-2 / 9-0-1 United East Skye Division) answered back quickly, tying the score in the 14
th. The Phoenix found a few open looks at goal, all of which were saved as the half closed, 1-1.
Wilson was first up in the second stanza, taking the lead in 61
st minute. The Highlanders would have their answer only seconds later by junior forward
Julia Bruestle (Abington, PA / Abington HS), assisted by senior midfielder
Becca Marzinke (Quakertown, PA / Upper Bucks Christian). Wilson had a final opportunity to put the match away with a penalty kick in the 85
th minute but senior goalkeeper
Isabelle Portis (Midland Park, NJ / Eastern Christian High School) did not entertain the idea, diving to save the shot and preserve the tie and force overtime.
The overtime period would see Wilson taking 4 shots to the Highlanders' 2, none of which fell as the 110
th minute closed in a deadlock draw and required penalty kicks to determine a victor. Cairn would win the coin toss and shoot first. Graduate defender
Rachel Yoder (Telford, PA / Souderton) shot first and made her shot followed by a make for Wilson. Miller and senior midfielder
Em Kuansongtham (Bangkok, Thailand / International Community School) each made theirs along with the Wilson attempts, all tied up at 3-3. Cairn would miss their fourth attempt as Wilson made theirs and took a 4-3 advantage. Freshman midfielder
Paige Noble (Egg Harbor Twp., NJ / Atlantic Christian School) was up next, followed by Portis nailing their attempts to take the lead as Wilson missed theirs high. As Wilson missed a second, a make by senior forward
Ashanley Philippe (Santiago, Dominican Republic / Santiago Christian School) would put the season on the line for the Phoenix. Their final shot was saved by Portis as Cairn won in penalty kicks 6-5.
On the match, Cairn was outshot 26-16 (13-9 on goal) but the Highlander defense made it a non-factor. Miller and Bruestle each had a regulation goal and Marzinke an assist. Yoder, Miller, Kuansongtham, Noble, Portis, and Philippe each had penalty kick goals. Portis collected 11 saves on the day in 110 minutes of work and played big on both sides in the penalty kick shootout.
The Highlanders advance to take on the No. 1 seeded Bryn Athyn College on the road, Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
