DALLAS - Aimee Kurfurst converted a 65th minute penalty kick to even the game at 1-1 and
Sophia DiGeronimo brought Westminster women's soccer (10-3-5) even at 2-2 with an 80th minute goal but Angelo State (16-4-2) would later finish off the match with a 96th-minute golden goal from the penalty spot in the first half of extra time to win 3-2 on Friday afternoon on the campus of Dallas Baptist University.
In match that featured a pair of strong defensive teams, Westminster struggled to create attacking chances in the opening half of the match with just six total shots in the first 45 minutes. Angelo State had 10 first-half shots with six on target and broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Kylie Hampton headed in a long, high-arching cross from Maddi Kyle.
After making five huge saves to keep Westminster in the match in the first half,
Kelsea Cracroft made another crucial stop just thirteen seconds out of the halftime break to keep the Griffins deficit at a single goal. Westminster eventually found room to work in the attacking third and were rewarded with up a call for a penalty on the edge of the area in the 64th minute. Kurfurst stepped to the spot and placed a hard low shot into the net for her sixth goal of the season to even the game at 1-1.
On the very next possession for Angelo State, the Belles were awarded the second penalty of the game when
Alex Hoffman was called for a foul just seconds after Kurfurst's equalizer. Having scored late-game goals in back-to-back games, however, Westminster wasted little time continuing to test goalkeeper Kira Miller who was forced into three second-half saves.
The Griffins found new life off of a free kick that was sent in by Hoffman and flicked on by
Cassidy Orr. Orr's headed pass deflected off of a Belles' defender and to the feet of
Sophia DiGeronimo who tapped a first-time shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net to even the match again at 2-2.
Angelo State had two dangerous chances inside of the Westminster penalty area in the final five minutes of the match, but
Kelsea Cracroft made two clutch stops to keep the match level and send Westminster to its eighth overtime game of the season and third in a row.
At just under six minutes into the first period of extra time, Westminster fell victim to the third penalty call of the match and the second against the Griffins as a Belles' attacker was tripped up just inside the left edge of the 18-yard-box. Valerie Solis stepped to the spot and put a low shot into the bottom left corner to send Angelo State into the NCAA Tournament second round match vs. top-seeded Dallas Baptist.
Westminster, which will return two all-conference performers and several key starters in 2022, will continue to build toward its first NCAA Tourney win as the overtime defeat brings an end to the 2021 season.
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