KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Freshman goalkeeper
Lauren Parker rewrote the Miami record books in her first collegiate start, but it wasn't enough as the Miami soccer team fell to Western Michigan, 2-1, in double overtime on Thursday.
Parker finished the afternoon with 18 saves, three better than Kristen Renner's 15 against Ohio on Nov. 1, 1997, the RedHawks' (2-9-1, 0-5 Mid-American) inaugural season.
"Lauren was absolutely fantastic today," head coach
Courtney Sirmans said. "She stepped up as a freshman in her first college start and performed very well. I'm very proud of our effort, but we can't continue to be satisfied with these results. The way we performed today needs to happen consistently. We are in the majority of our games and need to close them out. We are happy to have our next three matches at home and I'm looking forward to putting together consistent effort in those contests."
While the Broncos (10-3, 4-1 MAC) had a 12-5 shot advantage in the first half, including 7-1 in shots on goal, the RedHawks stood toe-to-toe on the road thanks to Parker's seven stops.
Lyda Bogdanovitch attempted two of MU's five shots, but the contest remained scoreless at halftime.
Things opened up more for Western Michigan in the second half, as it registered 22 shots. Parker remained equal to the task, however, making several point-blank saves as the scoreless tie wore on into the final 20 minutes of play.
The constant Bronco pressure led to a goal in the 77th minute when Hannah Kahn got played into the middle, where she finished into the lower right corner to put them up 1-0. Parker came up with some more crucial saves to give the Red & White a chance to come back.
That chance was put to good use thanks to a fortuitous bounce in the 84th minute. After a
Bianca Medancic throw-in,
Desiree Grubbs attempted to cross the ball into the box, but it hit a Bronco defender and landed behind their line to the waiting feet of
Olivia Winnett. The junior scored from in tight for her second goal of the season, sending the contest to overtime.
Neither team generated much on the attack in the first overtime period, with Miami and Western Michigan firing one shot apiece. Bogdanovitch had a good chance in the 96th minute with a shot she placed on target, but Hannah Sargent knocked the shot away and WMU cleared the ensuing corner kick. Western scored 34 seconds into the second overtime frame as Alyssa Burke was the final foot in a series of close range shot attempts that were initially blocked and Burke's bid found the net to send Western Michigan to the win.
Western Michigan outshot Miami 37-10 on the day and had five corner kicks to MU's three. Pressed into action due to an injury, Parker stopped 18 of 20 shots in her first collegiate start while Sargent finished with three saves for WMU.
Miami begins a three-match home stand on Sunday when it hosts Northern Illinois. Opening kickoff is at 1 p.m.
