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Soccer falls in double overtime

Posted on Oct 26, 2009 in Sports

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Marshall’s Erika Duncan scored a goal in the second overtime to lift the Thundering Herd to a 1-0 victory over UAB on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops the Blazers to 10-6-2 overall and 4-4-2 in league play, while the Thundering Herd improve to 12-6 overall and 5-5 in conference play.

The golden goal came just over three minutes into the second overtime, at the 103:33 mark, when Duncan ripped a shot from 25-yards out that hit off the crossbar and found the back of the net. It marked Duncan’s ninth goal of the season, which ranks second in the league.

“This was a very tough loss,” UAB head coach Paul Harbin said. “We had several opportunities to score but just couldn’t finish. I thought we controlled play and really gave them only a couple of dangerous chances, but they finished when it counted. We need to find a way to finish these games off. Marshall scored a great goal to win this game, so you have to give them credit. Now we just have to put all our focus into Thursday’s game against Memphis.”
The Blazers outshot the Thundering Herd in the contest by a count of 17-10, but UAB only had five shots on goal compared to seven shots on frame by Marshall. The Blazers outshot the Herd 7-3 in the opening 45 minutes and 9-4 in the second half. Marshall had a 3-1 shot advantage in the extra time.

Senior forward Danya Barsalona led the way for UAB with seven shots in the contest. Fellow senior Laura McCalla accounted for four shots with one coming on frame.

Senior Danielle Blair also came up big in the defensive third of the field. With 8:11 remaining in regulation, Marshall’s Sarah Vinson hit a shot that looked as if it beat Blazer goalkeeper Kate Blankenship. However, Blair was there to make a big stop and keep the game scoreless. Blankenship closed the contest with five saves.

The Blazers will close out the regular season in a crucial contest at Memphis on Thursday night at 7 p.m. UAB will secure a spot in the 2009 Conference USA tournament with a victory.