With 10 players, Lady Tigers pick up their first win of the season in an overtime thriller against Louisiana Tech. Freshman defender Chelsea Miller scored the winning goal in under three minutes into the overtime period.”Never give up,” is what Coach Tamura Crawley said after the huge win against the Lincoln Parish rival.
The Lady Techsters had come into the contest not allowing a goal in four previous games.
To make things worse, the Lady Tigers entered the game short-handed with only 10 players, which 11 players are supposed to be on the field at a time in soccer.
“Playing with 10 players is difficult,” Crawley said. “We have to pull things together more and quicker than most teams.”
Junior goalkeeper Cherie Silas set a tone for the Lady Tigers early as she had seven saves to keep the game scoreless at the end of the first half.
A big save and lift to the team was when Silas deflected a penalty kick from point blank range from Amy Wolsted.
Tech struck first as Scotti Culton scored in the opening seconds of the second half, with an assist from Katlyn Bachan, Tech extended the lead when Kristen Sevier scored fifteen minutes later with the assist from Olivia Lukasewich.
With time winding down, it seemed that Tech would record its first-ever win over Grambling. Angelica Singh lead the comeback for the Lady Tigers scoring her first goal of the year on the penalty kick.
With less than a minute on the clock, senior Whitney Weddington scored in spectacular fashion as she split the Tech defense and scored over the outstretched arms to the Tech goalie.
As the overtime period started, Silas delivered her 11th save as she deflected a shot from Tech’s Amy Quintana. After a foul by Tech, the Lady Tigers took advantage of the opportunity.
Freshman Chelsea Miller was able to score off the corner kick opportunity to give the Tigers their first win of the season.
“This game tested our character and heart because of all of the obstacles we were faced against,” Coach Crawley said with excitement.
The Lady Tigers now travel to El Paso for the annual Border Shootout at the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso. They play one game at three in the afternoon on Friday and again on Sunday at 11 a.m.