HAVERFORD, Pa. – Wednesday afternoon's double-overtime thriller ended with Phoebe Miller's goal (video) in the 108th minute as Haverford College's women's soccer team defeated visiting Muhlenberg College, 1-0, in a Centennial Conference match-up at Walton Field.
The victory was the first for Haverford (5-1, 2-0 Centennial) over the Mules (2-5-1, 0-2) since a 2-0 victory in 2005. The teams played to a 1-1 draw in the 2011 season after six straight Muhlenberg wins.
The Fords were on the offensive for much of the game Wednesday as they generated 16 shots in regulation time compared to just two from the Mules, who registered their first shot of the game in the 68th minute.
The first overtime period held true to form from the previous 90 minutes as Haverford owned a 3-1 advantage in shots and forced Muhlenberg goalie Francesca Cobuzzi to make the only save of the 10-minute period, coming off a shot by Miller in the final minute.
Haverford was right back at it in the second extra period getting a shot off at the 103:11 mark, which skirted the outside of the left post, and another three minutes later which Cobuzzi saved.
Pressure mounted as the clock wound toward the final minutes when the Fords forced a corner kick opportunity from the right. Sarah Hoffman stepped back then lofted a ball toward the back post and, after a bit of jostling for possession, Miller was able to corral the loose ball and slip a shot past a diving Cobuzzi just inside the left post for the golden goal. The marker was Miller's first of the season.
Haverford finished with a 22-3 edge in shots and 9-0 advantage in shots on goal, but corner kick opportunities were even, 2-2, until Hoffman's set piece at the 107:06 mark.
The victory was the third in the row for Haverford and the second consecutive 1-0 win as the Fords downed Dickinson College by the same score on Saturday, Sept. 15 in the conference opener for each squad. The first of the three-game win streak was a 2-1 double-overtime win at Babson College.
The Fords step out of conference action with their next game, a home contest Saturday at 1 p.m. against Elizabethtown College.