Sept. 16, 2008
Box Score
GRAMBLING, La. - A pair of goals in the final four minutes of regulation and a failed clear of a corner kick in the third minute of overtime allowed Grambling State to overcome a 2-0 deficit and defeat Louisiana Tech 3-2 in overtime Tuesday afternoon at the Lady Tiger Soccer Field.
"(Grambling) was the better team today," Tech head coach Kevin Sherry said. "They wanted it more. They played harder and deserved to win."
Despite dominating possession and outshooting the Lady Tigers 30-14, a squad mostly made up of reserves in the last few minutes could not hold a 2-0 lead for Tech (4-2). Grambling (1-4) played with only 10 players the entire match.
"I take full responsibility for this loss," Sherry said. "I tried to rest my starters late in the game, and I shouldn't have done that. That said, we kind of had this loss coming. We've gotten away with playing poorly the last two games, and it finally caught up with us."
With the loss also ends Tech's school record shutout streak which reached 480 minutes, 28 seconds before a penalty kick goal by Grambling in the 87th minute ended the streak.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half, but Tech had numerous great looks as they registered 18 shots, seven of which were on target. Grambling goalkeeper Cherie Silas was all over the place, stopping 11 Techster attempts, including a penalty kick try by Amy Wolsted in the 43rd minute.
Tech would come out of the break looking to score quickly, and they did just that. Freshman Scotti Culton took a pass from Katlyn Bachan on the left side of the box and beat Silas one-on-one to put Tech ahead 1-0 just 25 seconds into the second half.
The Techsters would extend the lead to 2-0 on a goal by Olivia Lukasewich in the 61st minute, getting an assist from fellow freshman Kristen Sevier for her fourth score of the season.
However, the Lady Tigers kept fighting, despite being outmanned and with two players limping after being shaken up earlier in the game. A scramble in front of the Grambling net ended up with a handball call against Tech inside the 18-yard box, resulting in a penalty kick for GSU. Angelica Singh was able to convert and pull Grambling to within a goal at 2-1 with less than four minutes to play.
Unfortunately, Tech was unable to hold that advantage for three-plus minutes more. Grambling's Whitney Weddington fired a shot from about 25 yards straight-on, and Tech keeper Cat Buchanan was unable to time her jump well enough to keep the shot from just sneaking under the crossbar, tying the game at 2-2 in the 90th minute and forcing extra time.
Another defensive mistake three minutes into overtime led to a corner kick for Grambling. The Techsters were unable to clear, and somehow in the mad scramble, GSU's Chelsea Miller was able to find the ball and poke it past Buchanan for the "golden goal" and Grambling's first victory of the season.
"Give all the credit to Grambling," Sherry said. "They only had 10 players, but they fought hard for all 90-plus minutes. Unfortunately, we did not. But we can't get depressed about this. We have to accept this as a learning experience and move on."
On a positive note, seniors Leslie Buck and Denise Wilson each played in their 53rd career games for Tech, breaking the all-time appearances record previously held by Laura Williamson.
Tech now looks to regroup and reverse its fortunes in a hurry as the team will compete in the Troy Trojans Soccer Classic this weekend in Troy, Ala. The Techsters will face another SWAC opponent, Alabama A&M, at noon Friday, then square off against host Troy (led by former Lady Techster Jill Pinder) at 3 p.m. Sunday.
