GRANTHAM, Pa – No. 14 Messiah women's soccer got both an equalizer and an overtime winner from Abby Monko to come back from an early hole and defeat No. 11 Carnegie Mellon on Shoemaker Field. The goals were the first of Monko's career, with the game-winner coming 6:01 into the first overtime session.
 
The win pushed Messiah to 3-1-2 on the season, with Carnegie Mellon falling to 3-1-1.  
 
Tartans Take Advantage
In the 25' Carnegie Mellon created some fortune and went up 1-0. A corner serve from the left side was lofted to the far post, and it bounced once as Emily Tolmer tried to bring it down. Rather than take it ground she flicked it back to the left post, and Ryan Casey cleaned it out of a mess and snuck it over the goal line.
 
Flip the Switch: Messiah Finds Equalizer
Though the game was end-to-end, Messiah was held without a shot for the first 55 minutes of play. In the 56' DJ Cole launched a clean look from 25 yards out, but it went right into the hands of keeper Carolyn Botz. Two minutes later Megan Mansfield found her own look from 23 yards out that went high.
 
Despite the misses, the field slowly turned to Messiah and they found a moment of brilliance in the 67' when Mansfield turned the corner on the right side and sent a sharp cross to the middle of the box. There, Abby Monko flicked a header to the far post to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Just two minutes later each team traded chances to take the lead: in the 69' Kaily Bruch launched an impressive shot from space 30 yards out, and Lydia Ewing made a terrific leaping save at the crossbar; in the 70' Julia Kyne was played through the right side and into the box, but her shot on a sharp angle went across the box and wide of the post.
 
Blow for Blow
The equalizer by Monko heightened the fight on the field, with both teams looking for any opportunity to get to the goal. Messiah handled every direct play from the Tartans, and they also frustrated the Tartan's possession into managing just three shots—one on goal—in the final 40 minutes of play.
 
On the other side Messiah kept the pressure on, and they looked poised for a goal in the 81' when Kyne was played through the defense to go 1v1 with Botz; Kyne's opportunity was deflated when she was whistled for offsides.
 
Big Shot (x2)
The game continued to be contested in the midfield in the overtime period, though Messiah had more territory throughout. In the 96' Kyne turned past her defender on the left side of midfield and fired a missile from 35 yards out. The impressive shot went on a line over the reach of Botz and off the crossbar, and it bounded to 10 yards out from the right post where Monko raced on. She quickly touched it to the ground, went at Botz, and put it through the middle of the net for the electric game-winning score.
 
The goal was the second of both the game and her career, and it came on Messiah's seventh shot of the game—all collected in the final 50 minutes of play.
 
Up Next
Messiah will try to push their win streak to three games when they host local rival Elizabethtown College on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m. The Blue Jays are 3-1-1 overall and defeated MAC Commonwealth member Lebanon Valley earlier today by a 3-0 score.