WASHINGTON, Pa. --
Maddie Dittrich (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton) found the back of the net in the 109th minute to propel the Washington & Jefferson women's soccer team to a 3-2 double overtime victory over Franciscan University of Steubenville in a Presidents' Athletic Conference match Saturday at Alexandre Stadium.
W&J scored first after gaining a corner kick opportunity. After the initial chance was saved,
Katie Hahn (Volant, Pa./Wilmington) scored for W&J on a header off of a pass from
Makenna Mann (Herndon, Va./South Lakes) in the 18th minute. The goal was the fourth of the season and 15th in Hahn's collegiate career.
Franciscan evened the score in the 31st minute when Angela Postage tucked the ball in the top right corner of the net on a corner kick. Gabriella De La Torre gathered a loose ball and scored from seven yards out to give the Barons a 2-1 lead in the 42nd minute of play.
W&J came out firing to start the second half of play, as the Red and Black tallied the first three shots and earned a pair of corner kick chances.
Katie Brown (Mechanisburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) tallied four of her first shots in the second half. Brown smashed a free kick from just outside the box in the 83rd minute but Franciscan goalkeeper Mercedes Murray made the stop to preserve the 2-1 lead.
The Presidents finally broke through with the equalizer a little more than a minute later, as they even the scored at 2-2 in the 84th minute of play to force overtime.
Peyton Behling (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) scooped up a loose ball in front of the net and scored from about eight yards out. The goal was the first of Behling's collegiate career.
Izzy Saloom (Ligonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) recorded an assist on the Behling score.
Both teams recorded a pair of shots in the first overtime but were unable to net the golden goal. Behling and Dittrich sent shots wide of the net just minutes into the second overtime. Franciscan recorded a pair of corner kicks before having a shot hit the crossbar with 1:36 to play. W&J was able to counter attack up field, as Saloom passed to Hahn, who dribbled into Franciscan territory. Hahn then sent a pass up field that found Dittrich, who finished into an empty net, after the Franciscan keeper came out in attempt to clear the ball. The game-winning goal was the second of the season for Dittrich.
W&J held advantages in shots (19-12), shots on goal (8-6) and corner kicks (6-4) in the match. Brown finished with a team-best five shots. Dittrich added four shots while Hahn and Behling registered three apiece.
Gabriella Lloyd (Butler, Pa./Butler) made four saves in 108+ minutes in net to earn the victory.
The win improves W&J to 3-2-1 in PAC play and 6-7-2 overall. The loss drops Franciscan to 4-2 in the league and 7-5 overall.
Hahn,
Courtney Crivelli (Beaver, Pa./Beaver),
McKenna Lewis (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) and
Jorey Wolfe (Claysville, Pa./McGuffey) were honored prior to the match as part of the annual Senior Day festivities.
W&J travels to Thiel College for another league contest on Tuesday, Oct. 19. Start time is slated for 4:30 p.m.
