Oct. 15, 2016 Box Score
HAMILTON, N.Y. - Navy freshman Cadie Higginson (New Orleans, La.) scored the golden goal in the 106th minute to help the Navy women's soccer team defeat Colgate, 4-3, in double overtime Saturday night at Beyer-Small '76 Field in Hamilton, New York. With the win, Navy improved to 3-2-1 in Patriot League play, while Colgate fell to 2-4-0.
With time winding down in the second overtime, Navy (7-8-3, 3-2-1 PL) found itself attacking inside the 18-yard box in the 106th minute. As the ball was loose inside the box, sophomore Karli Sottung (Westfield, N.J.) launched a shot at net, but was denied by Kelly Chiavaro, bounced off the cross bar and back into play. Higginson was the first one toward the loose ball and ripped her shot to the far post for the game winner.
"Colgate is always a tough match, whether on the road or at home, and tonight was no different," Navy head coach Carin Gabarra said. "It feels great to finally be on the right side of a close match like this one as we have had so many this season. Matches like this help down the stretch and we hope to continue this momentum moving forward."
Higginson recorded the program's 24th golden goal and first since Kaylie Davidson's versus St. Bonaventure on Sept. 8, 2013. Higginson's goal at 105:50 was the fourth latest goal at Navy.
Along with Higginson's game winner, senior Rachel Feldman (Danville, Calif.) was Navy's offensive catalyst in the regulation as she tallied all three of the Mids goals to force overtime. Feldman became the eighth different Mid in program history to record a hat trick.
Navy found its first offensive opportunity in the 26th minute. A Colgate forward sent a pass back towards midfield line where a Raider defender misplayed the ball and let it roll into their own defensive third. Junior Clare MacAdam (Palmyra, N.J.) gave chase to the loose ball, but Colgate goalkeeper Chiavaro came out of the box and was there to chip the ball away. Feldman, however, came charging in, put a foot on the loose ball and found the back of an empty net to give the Mids a 1-0 lead.
Down 1-0 entering the second half, Colgate (5-7-3, 2-4 PL) found itself on a counter attack in the 54th minute. Mara Cosentino dribbled towards midfield and sent a through ball down the left side of the field for Sarah Coy, who snuck in behind a Navy defender and found herself one-on-one with Navy goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby (Wesley Chapel, Fla.). Coy received the pass on her left foot, switched with her right and struck the ball with the inside of her foot to beat Wetherby to the far post for the equalizer.
Just four minutes later, Colgate earned a corner kick for its second offensive chance in as many tries. Coy swung in the corner kick right in front of the net for teammate Leah Lewis to head it on net, but Wetherby denied the opportunity. Off the loose ball, Claire Micheletti sent in the rebound for her first goal of the season and to give the Raiders the lead, 2-1.
Off a Colgate thrown in, Sophi Lederer broke free between two Navy defenders and fed teammate Eliza Doll at the top of the box. Doll took possession of the ball, juked left, came back to the right and sent a rocket to the top left corner of the net to beat Wetherby and add to Colgate's lead, 3-1, in the 73rd minute.
Feldman found herself with the ball off a short goal kick, faked to her left and sent a high shot to far post to beat Chiavaro to cut Navy's deficit to one, 3-2, in the 82nd minute.
"The game seemed to have gotten by us in the first 20 minutes of the second half as Colgate rattled off three in a row," said Gabarra. "Feldman's second goal gave the team a new sense of belief and push to get through the final minutes."
Four minutes later, senior Cat Macklin (McLean, Va.) dribbled into the 18-yard box and was taken down by a Colgate defender to earn a penalty kick. Feldman was given the honor for the penalty kick and rifled it to the left side to even the match, 3-3, in the 86th minute to force overtime.
Colgate held a slight edge over Navy in shots, 26-24, and corner kicks, 5-4, while the Mids outshot the Raiders on goal, 14-6.
Wetherby finished the match with three saves on six chances in the win.
Navy will host its next two Patriot League opponents, beginning with American on Wednesday (7 PM) at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility. The match will be streamed live and for free on PatriotLeague.TV with Joe Miller on the call.
