[dropcap]The[/dropcap] Creighton women’s soccer team entered Thursday in desperate need of three points to keep hope alive for a bid in the Big East Tournament, and thanks to senior forward Addison Nokels’ golden goal in the 107th minute and sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Rice’s Morrison Stadium-record 14 saves, the Bluejays (9-3-0, 1-2-0 Big East) walked away with 2-1 double overtime win over Providence to move into a three-way tie with the Friars (5-5-2, 1-2-0 Big East) as well as Butler for sixth place in the Big East standings.
“We weren’t ‘on’ with a few players tonight, but we were at the right moments,” Creighton head coach Bruce Erickson told reporters after the match. “It was a lot of little effort things that we didn’t have in games that we either snuck by to win or lost, and those were evident tonight. Those were things we worked on all week, so it was a massive, massive win for us. Big three points.”
The Friars got on the board first in the 35th minute thanks to the hustle of star forward Catherine Zimmerman. A Providence through ball was heading towards the end line, but Zimmerman got around Bluejay center back Madelyn Buckner to keep it in bounds and center it to midfielder Allison Walton who shot it on the run from 8 yards out and put the Friars ahead 1-0.
Creighton answered less than a minute later when Alyssa Jara was tripped up inside the 18′ leading to a Bluejay penalty kick. Normally the Bluejays turn to the senior defender Buckner for the penalty kicks, but this time they went with midfielder Ylenia Sachau. The sophomore from Germany rewarded the decision by drilling a shot past Providence keeper Kristyn Shea to tie the game up. Sachau had only been on the field for 30 seconds before putting home the penalty kick for her third goal of the season to tie the match at 1-1.
“‘Buck’ and ‘Lenny’ shoot our takers and I think they had scouted us pretty well, and I think ‘Buck’ realized that,” Erickson said of his decision to have Sachau take the penalty kick. “They hadn’t seen ‘Lenny’ take a penalty kick so I actually think it was a good decision on (Buckner’s) part. ‘Lenny’ can smack a ball. She was fine. Never a worry.”
The score stayed tied heading into halftime, and both teams created plenty of chances in the second half to put their team ahead despite Providence finishing with a 15-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Friars were putting balls on frame throughout the match, most of which came from distance forcing Creighton netminder Danielle Rice to make decisions on potential 50-50 balls. She made the right decision most of the night, coming off her line to intercept crossing passes or punch away corner kicks. She was a presence in goal as she finished with a career-high 14 saves, which also broke a two-year-old Morrison Stadium record for most saves in a single match by a Creighton women’s soccer player.
Though her record-setting performance under the Morrison Stadium lights took place on Thursday night, forward Kirstyn Corder said Rice’s impact actually started on Wednesday. According to the junior out of Overland Park, Kan., Rice held a meeting with her defense to highlight the importance of this match and get everyone to lock in. “She pulled the defense together yesterday just to talk and to get them on the same page for the game today,” Corder told White & Blue Review after the match.
“This was a monumental game. If we would’ve lost it would’ve been three losses (in conference play), and it would’ve left us asking what do we do now, but now that we won that’s three points and it really meant a lot. I really love her aggressiveness, her eye for the ball, and her leadership is really helping this team out right now.”
Despite Rice and the Creighton defense keeping Providence out of the net after halftime and into the overtime periods, the Bluejays’ offense still needed to break through in order to get the result. And in the 107th minute, it was Kirstyn Corder who set up the play. She received a pass from Alyssa Jara just outside the 18′ and broke down the Providence back line before finding Addison Nokels on the right flank with no one in front of her except the Big East leader in goals against average, Providence keeper Kirstyn Shea.
Nokels sized up Shea and slotted the golden goal into the net in the 107th minute as her teammates rushed onto the field and fireworks shot off outside the stadium. “I kind of hesitated because I thought I was offsides for a second,” Nokels said. “It was an absolutely awesome (feeling after the ball went in). I think we just worked hard and it was a matter of who wanted it more and we definitely prevailed in that aspect.”
With the win the Bluejays get the three points and will carry them into Sunday afternoon’s home match with the Seton Hall Pirates, who are still looking for their first win in Big East play after falling 1-0 at home to DePaul on Thursday afternoon. It’ll be another big game for Creighton as the Jays are taking a one game at a time approach to the rest of the season in the hopes of accumulating enough points to finish in the top six and earn a trip to the Big East Tournament in New York in early November.
The Bluejays and Pirates (3-6-2, 0-3-0 Big East) will kick-off at 1 p.m. on Sunday.