BOX SCORE DULUTH, Minn. – Augustana soccer fought hard, but came up just short in a 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota Duluth in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Sunday. The second-straight loss dropped the Vikings to 7-3 (5-2 NSIC). The Bulldogs increased their record to 7-2 (6-1 NSIC).
Minnesota Duluth jumped out early to take a 1-0 lead. Dani Potter got her sixth goal of the season in the 12th minute of regulation on the unassisted goal.
Augustana, undeterred by the quick start, answered quickly with
Maren Werth scoring her seventh goal of the year in the 15th minute of the first half, tying the game at 1-1.
Ellie Westemeyer recorded her second assist of 2013 on the play.
Less than two minutes later, Werth and Westemeyer would hook up again for a Vikings' goal, giving Augustana its first lead of the contest at 2-1. The Bloomington, Minn. native struck in the Westemeyer pass at the 16:08 mark in the half, giving the senior her eighth goal of the year, and second in the half. For Westemeyer, it was her third assist on the season.
Minnesota Duluth would tie up the game at 2-2 in the 33rd minute of regulation on Maureen Stormont's unassisted goal.
Both teams kept each other in check for the final 12 minutes of the half, taking a 2-2 tie into halftime.
The Bulldogs outshot the Vikings in the first half 13-7. Werth fired all seven shots for Augustana in the first half. Junior goalkeeper
Ashley Limmer made an acrobatic array of saves in the first 45 minutes of play, stopping three Minnesota Duluth shots in impressive fashion.
The second half was much more a defensive battle as neither team was able to score. The Vikings had their best scoring opportunity in the 79th minute, when
Aleisha Oehlerking dribbled past the Bulldog defenders and had a shot deflected by the keeper.
Katie Hurd took the rebound and just missed getting a potential game-winning goal as the shot hit the left post.
Just 30 seconds into overtime, Minnesota Duluth's Stormont sealed the deal for the Bulldogs, scoring the golden goal to end the match, giving Minnesota Duluth the 3-2 victory. It was the senior's fifth game-winning goal of the year.
For the match, Minnesota Duluth outshot Augustana 24-14 in the game.
Limmer's eight saves were a career-high for the Brandon, S.D. native, several of which were highlight caliber.
The Vikings return home next weekend for a pair of home games at Morstad Field. Up first, a matchup with Concordia-St. Paul at 1 p.m. Augustana closes out the weekend on Sunday against Minnesota State at 1 p.m.
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