It took extra time, but the Elon University women's soccer team used a goal in the 93rd minute from senior defender Olivia Mackey to take a 3-2 victory on the road against Georgia Southern University Friday, Oct. 18.
Last time Elon took on the Eagles, the stage was the 2012 Southern Conference tournament semifinals in Birmingham, Ala. In the final second, the Phoenix surrendered a goal that ended Elon's season and pushed the underdog Eagles to the championship game.
Georgia Southern went on to win the tournament, but fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The loss to the Eagles was something that weighed heavily on the mind of senior forward Catherine Brinkman. But the senior got her redemption Friday by scoring twice in regulation for the Phoenix.
In the 34th minute, Brinkman scored from the penalty spot on a pass from senior forward Simi Dhaliwal to put the Phoenix up 1-0.
Though Georgia Southern got the equalizer in the 50th minute, they got the go-ahead goal two minutes later.
Twelve minutes after Georgia Southern grabbed the lead, Brinkman and the Phoenix pulled it back with her second goal of the night. The goal came on a rebound off a shot from freshman midfielder Alexis de Groot.
Looking for the hat trick, Brinkman nearly found the back of the net again in the final minute of the match, but her shot was turned away in the final seconds.
Mackey's goal three minutes into overtime came on a foul and the ensuing free kick. Mackey struck the ball from 40 yards out to give Elon its second win in a row. The win also moved Elon's unbeaten streak to four. Last time Elon lost was a 2-1 setback at the hands of The Citadel Oct. 4.
Elon will take on Davidson College Sunday, Oct. 20, in Davidson, N.C. to finish out it's final road weekend. The Phoenix and Wildcats battled to a scoreless draw last season.
Following the Davidson contest, the Phoenix will return home for their final two home matches of the regular season against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Samford University before going on the road to finish the season in Greensboro, N.C. against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Entering play Sunday, the Phoenix, with an overall record of 9-2-4 and a 3-1-2 mark in conference, sit fourth in the SoCon standings, one position ahead of where they were picked to finish before the season.
Of the three teams ahead of them, the Phoenix have topped SoCon leader Furman University and tied the No. 3 team Appalachian State to start the SoCon schedule. Samford sits in second-place with a record of 10-4-1 overall, 4-2-1 in conference.