Freshman Emely van der Vliet played the role of hero for the second time this season, scoring the game-winning goal in the 105th minute of the second overtime period to lift the UTM soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) foe Tennessee Tech on Friday night.
The Skyhawks (3-3-1, 3-3-1 OVC) played in their second double-overtime match in as many contests but this time came out victorious behind the golden goal off the foot of van der Vliet for her second game-winner of the season.
UTM controlled the tempo for much of the contest, holding 59 percent of the game’s possession total while leading the shot total 19 to 11. The Skyhawks also tallied nine shots on goal as opposed to the Golden Eagles three.
Five different players tallied multiple shot attempts for the Skyhawks, including a game-high seven for van der Vliet. Bella Roberts also notched a pair of shots on goal while the trio of Jill Hildreth, Hendrikje Baurmann and Alice Adams recorded the others.
In goal, senior Erica Myers earned her third shutout of the season and 16th of her career. She also tallied three saves in over 104 minutes of action to lower her GAA to 0.80 on the season and improve her save percentage to 80.6 percent. Myers was especially exceptional when it mattered most, tallying two of her three saves in the first overtime period.
UTM’s offense nearly cracked into the scoring column on several occasions but could not find the winning touch until later in overtime. In the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Skyhawks placed three shots on goal off the feet of Roberts, Hildreth and Baurmann but each shot would be saved to send the matchup to overtime.
The Skyhawks would send another barrage of attempts in the opening overtime period with five shots attempts – including two on goal in the final minutes which were blocked and saved to keep the contest tied.
The visitors finally broke through on their 19th and final attempt of the night off the foot of van der Vliet in the 105th minute as she laced an attempt into the top left corner of the net to secure the 1-0 overtime thriller.
UTM will wrap up the road portion of its 2020-21 schedule on Tuesday, March 30 with a matchup at Austin Peay. Action is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m.
