Blue Raiders Fall 4-3 in Overtime

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee scored three goals in the final 20 minutes to send the game to overtime, but North Texas forward Marilyn Marin tallied her second score of the contest two minutes into overtime to give the Lady Eagles a 4-3 overtime victory over the Blue Raiders in Sun Belt soccer action Sunday at the Blue Raider Soccer Field.

North Texas controlled the first half and led 2-0 at the break, then Marin gave the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead with her first goal of the game in the 66th minute. But the homestanding Blue Raiders mounted a comeback in the final 20 minutes of the match, beginning with Lindsey Bopp's floater that found the top right corner of the net in the 70th minute, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

MT kept the pressure on the visitors, playing almost the entire second half on the North Texas end of the field. A foul in the 79th minute about 30 yards out gave the Blue Raiders a direct kick, and MT's Lisa Langrish placed the restart on net and into the back of the net, off the hands of UNT keeper Monica Housden.

Time seemed to be running out for the home team until freshman Danielle LaDuke took a ball at midfield and raced toward the net with just one defender to beat. LaDuke beat the defender to the left near the top of the 18-yard box and flicked a low shot toward the outside post, past Housden and just inside the post in the 87th minute to knot the contest at three.

The Blue Raiders had the first scoring chance of the overtime period, with Emily Carter ripping a shot from the top of the 18-yard box, but Housden made her seventh save of the match, all after halftime, just under a minute into the extra frame.

The Lady Eagles then won a ball in the midfield and Melinda Pina lobbed a pass to Marin. Marin dribbled past diving MT goalie Emily Shrum near the top of the 18-yard box, and found the net 1:36 into the overtime for the 4-3 victory. Shrum made eight saves in the match, including six in the first half when the visitors peppered the net for 11 shots.

In the first half, North Texas grabbed the lead in the 25th minute of play. Carrie Kveton chipped a ball into the box on a restart, and Michelle Uselton headed it toward the net, where Pina headed it again into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Lady Eagles scored again in the 43rd minute when Pina headed a ball toward the box and Keri Kuwamura headed it into the net, giving UNT a 2-0 halftime advantage.

The match was a tale of two halves, with the visitors controlling the first and the home team the second. UNT outshot the Blue Raiders, 11-2, in the opening 45 minutes, with the Blue Raiders holding a 13-6 advantage in shots in the second half.

The Blue Raiders play three of their next four matches at home, starting with Wednesday's 2 p.m. contest versus Appalachian State. MT also hosts Belmont on Sunday, October 21, at 2 p.m. on Senior Day, and plays the final home match of the year on Tuesday, October 23, versus Georgia State.

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