Williamsburg, KY- After a 90-minute head-to-head battle between the No. 6 UT Southern Firehawks and No. 4 UC Patriots, a 3-2 victory earns UC one of its biggest win in program history. Prior to today's matchup, the Pats were 0-5 against the Firehawks, but after facing one of the toughest schedules in the NAIA this season, UC was well-prepared for this top-6 matchup.
UT Southern was the first to score a goal, and a quick one at that. From the moment the whistle blew, the Firehawk offense had control of the ball. Their first goal came in the 16
th minute, which brought the score 1-0.
Immediately after the first goal was scored, the Patriots kicked it up a notch. Emotions were running high and each team was awarded fouls and yellow cards. In the 26
th minute, a Firehawk defender fouled
Laura Navajas inside the 18-yard box and the team was awarded a penalty kick. UC's leading scorer,
Jayden Boelter, stepped up to take the kick. After analyzing the Firehawk goalkeeper, the sophomore decides to boot the ball into the bottom right side of the net – one touch and the game was tied 1-1.
With adrenaline running high and the crowd on its feet in the 31', Cumberlands breaks the tie. A throw in from down field and a give-and-go between Navajas and Boetler gives the Pats their second goal of the night. Once the ball reached the boot of Boelter, she took two touches before kicking it into the left side of the net putting the Patriots in front 2-1.
These two together are unstoppable. This season, Boelter has 16 goals with six braces and one hat- trick. Six of those goals were assisted by
Laura Navajas, the programs assist leader who is clearly not done setting records.
Going into the second half, the Firehawks had statistically out-shot the Patriots 3-2, but with one shots on goal compared to UC's two. The reigning National Champions weren't done fighting as they came into the last 45 minutes of the game amped up. Matching their energy on the opposite end of the field was the Patriots, who were leading 2-1 against one of their biggest rivals. The game continued to get more aggressive, so much so that seven fouls, two yellow cards and a red card was handed out in the last half.
In the 75
th minute, the Firehawks fired back by netting the ball into the back of the Patriot goal. Estelle Basoedana Ekada, UT's leading scorer, sent the ball flying into the top of the goal, barely missing goalkeeper
Georgia Martell's fingertips bringing the game to a 2-2 tie.
With just fifteen minutes left in the game, UC was scrambling to put together a goal. A corner kick from
Olaya Blanco, turned straight header found the back of the net but was negated because of a Patriot fould, as the game remained tied 2-2.
Even after a disappointing call by the referees and so little time left in the game, UC was determined to bring home a win. With four minutes left in the game and a chance at redemption, Blanco was awarded another corner kick. Her ball flew threw the air, and bounced off a couple of players before finding Boelter's right boot. The sophomore tried to knock in another goal but it was blocked by a diving Firehawks goalkeeper. As the goalkeeper hit the ground the ball came loose and
Irene Medina knocked in the golden goal. Medina's first goal of the season came at a great time, as it secured the win over a top-10 team.
Going into the match, the Patriots were averaging 0.8 goals against UT Southern, but tonight's performance knocks that number clear out of the water. Not only was this the first time UC has beaten UT Southern, but this is only the second time ever since joining the Mid-South in 2020 that the Firehawks have lost to a team within the conference.
Head Coach
Steve Hamilton said, "I'm so proud of them! To come back twice shows incredible character and resolve. Now we have to get healthy, and recover, because the next big game is right around the corner."
Boelter finished with two goals an assists in the game, while
Georgia Martell made four saves in the contest. The Patriots backline of
Selena Barnett,
Amy Anderson,
Rita Aguye Cots, and
Amalia Wichmann limited the Firehawks to just nine shots in the game, there lowest since these two teams met in the 2021 MSC Championship game on November 12 of last year.
Cumeberlands has their next top-25 matchup against #15 Cumberland University this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4:30PM at the UC Soccer Complex. Live video of the game will be streamed
here.
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