NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Rachel Foran’s (So./River Forest, Ill./Oak Park River Forest) header rolled through the Bethel University defense and crossed the goal line with 24 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Carleton College women’s soccer team a 1-0 victory.
The Knights (6-5-1, 4-2 MIAC) clearly controlled play on the afternoon, holding a lopsided advantage in time of possession. Carleton out-shot the Royals 19-3 en route to the team’s fifth win in its last six games. Over this stretch, the Knights have out-scored the opposition 7-1 and moved into a tie for third in the conference standings.
Bethel nearly found the game winner when Michelle Hentges got free from about 10 yards out. Her shot at 98:24 sailed high, and on its next possession Carleton worked the ball to the other end of the pitch and tallied the game winner.
Niki Tomita (So./Redwood City, Calif./Woodside) had the first crack at breaking the tie, but Bethel netminder Kiersten Hansen deflected the shot out of bounds for her seventh save of the afternoon.
Off the ensuing corner kick, the first header by Quinn Stewart (Fy./Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge) was off the mark, but after a short clearance, Foran headed the ball down—presumably to find the feet of a teammate. Instead the ball trickled between two Royal defenders and past Hansen into the back of the Royals’ net. It was Foran’s second game-winning goal of the week.
Kate Trenerry (Jr./Rochester, Minn./Century) made two saves in posting her second shutout.
The Knights will host the University of St. Thomas on Wed., October 14 in a matchup of the conference’s top two teams from a year ago. Knights Online will feature a live video webcast of the game.
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