CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Senior midfielder Jolie Nitta scored the "golden goal" with less than 4 minutes to play in the final overtime period to avoid a draw and lift the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Azusa Pacific to a 3-2 road victory over No. 6-ranked Lee (Tenn.) Friday evening at the Lady Flames Classic. Nitta came up with a loose ball in front of the Flames net after a corner kick off the foot of sophomore Karen Lawrence, then poked it past the Lee goalkeeper to give Azusa Pacific its second straight win over a Top 10-ranked opponent.
In less than 3 minutes of play, the stingy defense of the NAIA's No. 2-ranked Azusa Pacific, which had surrendered just 1 goal in its first 4 games, had to re-group after a 2-0 Cougar lead dissipated into a 2-2 tie when Lee sandwiched a pair of goals around the halftime break. The Cougars survived 5 additional shots on goal in the second half to force the overtime periods.
"I thought we deserved to win the overtime," said Cougar head coach Jason Surrell. "This was a big win for us, to come out to their place and get a result we felt we deserved. We looked great during parts of the game tonight, and we still seemed to be fairly fresh for the overtime."
Azusa Pacific struck first in the 7th minute, when sophomore Bridget Brotherton flipped a shot just past the goalkeeper with an assist from Nitta. In the 15th minute, Brotherton doubled the Cougar lead when she drilled a 30-yard strike after Lee tried to clear the ball out of the area. Nitta had an opportunity later in the half that hit the post, and the Cougars seemed headed to halftime with a commanding 2-0 lead.
However, with less than 2 minutes to play in the half, Lee used a corner kick to set up a goal by Meike Petri that brought the Flames to within 2-1 at the half. Less than a minute after play resumed to start the second half, Janaina Novaes blasted a long strike into the top right corner of the goal to even the game at 2-2.
Lee put the pressure on throughout the half, sending 12 more shots through the remainder of regulation in the hopes of sending through the game-winner, but junior goalkeeper Jill Colfer and the Cougar defense held firm and turned away all 5 of Lee's remaining shots on goal in the second half. Colfer, who had pushed her scoreless streak to over 425 consecutive minutes before Lee's strike, finished with a season-high 9 saves, many on long low-percentage opportunities.
"We played the best first half of soccer that we have played all year," said Surrell. "We played great except for the last few minutes, when they caught us sleeping a little bit on that corner kick. Lee definitely out-played us in the second half, but I thought we came back strong and won the overtime."
The Cougars heated up their attack in the extra periods, creating 5 corner kick opportunities and 4 shots on goal, including the corner kick that set up the subsequent game-winning goal by Nitta. Azusa Pacific held the Flames without a shot or corner kick through the entire overtime.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 5-0 on the season, returning to action at the Lady Flames Classic tomorrow afternoon with a 5 p.m. Central time contest against No. 4-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in a rematch of last year's 2-1 Cougar road victory over the Blue Raiders, then ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, in Columbia, Ky.
