WILMINGTON – Mount St. Joseph University broke a 1-1 tie in the 89th minute to narrowly defeat the Wilmington College women’s soccer team 2-1 on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium.

In the waning minutes, Kaylan Gruber broke through the Fightin’ Quaker defense near the sideline of Townsend Field. Wilmington goalkeeper Leda Moyer charged the ball, but Gruber beat her to the spot and flicked a low shot that found the back of the net for the game-winning goal.

Wilmington needed a comeback to get the game to that point as MSJ took a 1-0 lead off a corner kick in the 10th minute.

The hosts trailed 1-0 after an even first half that featured five shots from either side. Wilmington, however, was the aggressor coming out of halftime as the Quakers fired four shots in the first seven minutes of the second half. One of those shots, by Tiffany Hayes, beat MSJ goalkeeper Megan Gilpin, but ricocheted off the post and out of bounds.

A minute later, Wilmington’s pressure paid off as the Quakers earned a corner kick in the 53rd minute. Alex Vestal’s cross hit its target – Haley Burge – and Burge did the rest, heading a ball into the upper right-hand corner of the goal.

Wilmington, which held a 10-2 edge in shots in the second half, could not break through the Lion defense again.

Wilmington (2-2-0) returns to action on Wednesday, Sept. 12 for a 5 p.m. match at Ohio Christian University.