Overtime Goal Drops No. 15 Tartans at Rochester

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - The 15th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University women's soccer team traveled to Rochester, N.Y. for an University Athletic Association (UAA) match against the University of Rochester on Sunday, November 3. Ninety minutes of action wasn't enough to determine a winner as Rochester used the second overtime to defeat the Tartans 3-2 and earn its first win in UAA play.

A shot by junior Savina Reid (Briarcliff Manor, N.Y./Briarcliff) was saved in the sixth minute of the game and it led to the Tartans' (9-3-2, 3-2-1) first score when senior defender Rachel Contopoulos (Oakland, Calif./Berkeley) served a cornerkick in front of the goal for sophomore midfielder Carson Quiros (Atlanta, Ga./Whitefield Academy) to head home for the 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.

The lead didn't last long though as Rochester's leading scorer Jessica Smith scored her 11th goal of the season in the 18th minute when she put a shot from the right wing past freshman keeper Katie Liston (Lakewood, Ohio/Montessori HS at University Circle).

Another corner kick by the Tartans resulted in their second score when junior Jordyn Greenberg (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) headed in a service by Contopoulos in the 28th minute.

The Yellowjackets were able to equalize once again when Kim Stagg volleyed in a shot off a corner kick by Gabriella Goddette with 48 seconds to play in the first half.

The second half saw an early shot by senior Alex Venegas (Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) saved by Allison Bernstein while Liston made a save in the 83rd minute on a shot by Grace Van der Ven keeping the score knotted at 2-2.

In the first overtime, Reid had a shot hit the crossbar and that momentum carried into the second overtime as the Tartans had three quick shots in the third minute of the extra frame. The first shot by Couture was blocked before Venegas had a shot saved by Bernstein and Contopoulos's follow-up went wide.

The missed opportunities kept the game open for Rochester who was able to score the game winner in the 107th minute. Smith lobbed a 20-yard shot over Liston for the goal following an assist by Stagg.

The Tartans will take to the field again on Saturday, November 9 when they face Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., at 1:30 p.m. for their final regular season game.