E-mail
Print
COLUMBIA — Haley Krentz knew the Tigers had worked too hard to not come away with a win.
After being down 2-0 late in the second half to Loyola Maryland, the Missouri soccer team had scored twice in the last 15 minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Now, barely one minute into the second extra period, Krentz was racing toward the goal in a position to give the Tigers what they dug back for.
And she got it.
The sophomore midfielder’s goal in the 101st minute gave the Tigers (2-3-2) a 3-2 victory over the Greyhounds Friday at Walton Stadium.
“I got the ball and I was like ‘I just want this game to get over with,’ Krentz said. “We were all working so hard.”
The goal capped an effort in which the Tigers had to keep positive, despite being down for the first 75 minutes.
“We knew that we were better than this team right from the get-go so we just had to stay confident and keep our heads up,” senior forward Alysha Bonnick said.
“The other team was awesome, they didn’t back down at all,” Krentz said. “It was us having to step up to the occasion and go big.”
Krentz’s unassisted score put a happy note on what started as a clumsy game for Missouri.
At the 28th minute the Tigers had trouble wrapping up a loose ball in front of the net, and Greyhound sophomore forward Nichole Schiro popped in the goal for the 1-0 advantage.
Schiro struck again 13 minutes later, this time heading in a goal in the midst of Missouri defenders.
“When they did score their second goal I could see a few girls getting frustrated and stuff like that but we kept it together,” Bonnick said.
The Tigers comeback started with a score from junior forward Kendra Collins in the 75th minute—a critical boost for Missouri’s morale.
“Once we get one goal we know it’s going to keep coming,” Bonnick said.
Missouri tied it up six minutes later when Bonnick tapped it past the Greyhounds' goalkeeper for an unassisted goal.
After a scoreless first overtime, the stage was set for Krentz’s heroics in the second overtime.
After coming back from a two-goal deficit, Missouri coach Bryan Blitz talked about composure with his team.
“What we talked about after game was we can’t panic,” Blitz said. “Stay with our plan, let’s work our plan, don’t get frustrated, stick with each other and they eventually did.“
The Tigers return to play Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 1 p.m. Sunday at Walton Stadium.
Show Me the Errors 
Comments