VCU tops Florida Atlantic in double OT

0

It took 104 minutes of play, but VCU claimed their first home victory Friday night at the VCU/Eurosport Invitational, beating Florida Atlantic 2-1 in double overtime.

Pernilla Jansson (Sweden) scored the game-winning goal off an assist from fellow freshman Samara Stephen-Dowd (Vienna/Oakton High School).

It took 104 minutes of play, but VCU claimed their first home victory Friday night at the VCU/Eurosport Invitational, beating Florida Atlantic 2-1 in double overtime.

Pernilla Jansson (Sweden) scored the game-winning goal off an assist from fellow freshman Samara Stephen-Dowd (Vienna/Oakton High School).

“It wasn’t that good of a shot but it went in,” she said. “That’s all that matters.”

Co-head coach Denise Schilte-Brown agreed with Jansson, praising her level of play.

“Pernilla’s been doing a great job of taking her chances, getting enough shots on goal where it felt like it was about time one went in the net,” she said. “Well deserved, I think.”

Co-head coach Chris Brown highlighted the performance of Stephen-Dowd, who contained Florida Atlantic player Ashley Mannarino, limiting the potent freshman to one shot and pushing the Owls to develop plays elsewhere.

“We knew coming in that number three (Mannarino) had been doing quite a bit of damage in their other games and was quite dangerous,” he said. “Everyone we talked to, even the UCLA coach, said that number three was quite quick and served a good ball. Samara, she’s extremely athletic, she’s a great defender. That’s her natural side anyway, it just happened that it matched up that way. She did a great job shutting that girl down.”

Schilte-Brown agreed, saying that the Owls “probably counted on their number three to create a little bit more havoc. We weren’t worried with Samara on that side of the field. That was a nice comfort zone for us.”

The game began in a rush, with both teams turning over the ball quickly. Fifteen minutes in, VCU’s Megan Flanagan (Franktown, Colo.) knocked in her first collegiate goal off of a corner kick by co-captain Jennifer Woodie (Woodbridge/Woodbridge High School). In the 39th minute, Owl player Susanna Lehtinen beat VCU goalkeeper Emily Niman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on a penalty kick to tie the game, 1-1. It was the former Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year’s fifth goal for the season.

Neither team could find an opening for a goal in the second half, although FAU tried furiously for the first ten minutes. Both teams had five shots, and Niman recorded three saves in the period.

“For the most part they were taking long range shots,” Schilte-Brown said. “They weren’t getting in behind our defense too comfortably.”

In the first overtime, Florida led 1-0 on shots as both teams looked for the final goal. The Owls were called for dangerous play halfway through the ten-minute period. In the 96th minute, VCU co-captain Sandra Anger (France) and FAU player Denise Brolly were handed yellow cards. A minute later, Mannarino got a yellow card for yanking down Stephen-Dowd.

Twenty seconds into the second overtime, VCU’s Hayley Moorwood (New Zealand) fired the ball over the goal. With three minutes remaining, Brolly took a shot that went wide. Samara-Dowd brought the ball up the left side before moving it to Jansson, who knocked in the game winner.

After beating FAU, the Rams played the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Sunday. When asked Friday about VCU’s chances against UNLV, Shilte-Brown smiled and said, “we’re not worried.” Despite such an optimistic response, the game did not go as she would have wanted.

Leading18-7 on shots, the Rams ended up tying the Rebels 0-0 in a second double overtime match. The Rams had an 8-3 edge on shots in the first half, but UNLV goalkeeper Ciera Nero made two saves. The defense brought the Rams down to four shots in the second period. VCU reignited in the first overtime, taking six shots to one by the Rebels. UNLV’s Jessica Brown’s shot in the 101st minute was saved by Lauren Hardison (Midlothian, Clover Hill High) as the Rams failed to get off a shot.

In other action at the VCU/Eurosport Invitational, the University of Richmond and UNLV played to a 1-1 double overtime tie. UNLV held a 1-0 lead for 72 minutes until Richmond’s Carrie Holland scored with 42 seconds in regulation. The Spiders led 5-3 on shots in the two overtimes, but couldn’t make a second goal.

The Owls evened their record 3-3 by topping the Spiders 1-0 Sunday morning. In the 33rd minute, Daneille DiLeo hammered in a header off an assist by Brolly. Florida Atlantic outshot Richmond 11-4 in the second half, but couldn’t make a second goal. The Spiders are 2-3-1 after starting their season with six away games.

Leave a Reply