WILMINGTON — A Haley Fulton corner kick found the head of Courtney Ryan, who buried the game-winning goal in the Wilmington College women’s soccer team’s 2-1 overtime victory Wednesday over Muskingum University in Ohio Athletic Conference action at Townsend Field.
The victory was the Fightin’ Quakers’ fourth consecutive win.
In the final game of its four-game home stand, Wilmington started off strong with five shots in the first 10 minutes. The Muskingum defense proved to be up to the task as the Fighting Muskies turned away all five shots.
After the opening volley of shots, Muskingum settled in and returned the favor with four shots of their own in the next 10 minutes. In the 26th minute, Fulton took a corner kick and rifled it into the box, but no Quaker was able to connect cleanly and the ball trickled just wide right.
Although Wilmington had been dominating time of possession in the first half, the Quakers were unable to break through the Muskingum defense. In the waning moments of the first half, Muskingum earned a corner. Madison Yenke booted the ball into the box and as Wilmington struggled to clear the ball, Bekah Knight was able to make solid contact and put the ball in the net giving Muskingum a 1-0.
Wilmington again started the second half strong with three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes. The pressure proved to be too much for Muskingum as in the 60th minute a foul set the stage for a dangerous free kick. Fulton, a sophomore defender, lined up and delivered a beautiful free kick that bent and tailed away from goalkeeper Abigail Karstenson into the far side of the net.
Moments later, Abby Spirk skidded another ball into the box forcing a diving save. In the 72nd minute, Muskingum earned a corner and delivered a strike into the box forcing an aggressive save from Lauren Galloway. The senior quickly sent an outlet pass to Maddie Scott who led a lightning-quick counterattack. Traversing the entire length of the field, Scott found herself with just the keeper to beat. Again, Karstensen held strong. Neither team was able to break the 1-1 deadlock as the game headed into overtime.
Continuing the trend, Wilmington came out very aggressively with Fulton putting a good shot on goal in the first minute of overtime. Less than two minutes later, Heidi Edens found herself alone with the ball and let loose a firecracker from 30 yards, but Karstensen tipped the ball over the crossbar.
The shot was not for nothing, however, as Wilmington earned a corner. Fulton launched the ball high in the air and into the box. As the ball soared over the mass of players in front of the box, a lone figure rose above the fray. Ryan jumped into the air and headed the ball into the back of the net.
Lauren Galloway, the reigning OAC Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, earned the win making four saves. Karstensen tallied 13 saves on 15 shots. In total, Wilmington tallied 25 shots compared to 10 for Muskingum
Up next, Wilmington (5-5-1, 2-0-0) heads to the University of Mount Union (5-4-1, 1-1-0) to face the Purple Raiders 1 p.m. Saturday.
