ROANOKE, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Women's Soccer Team (3-6, 2-3 ODAC) took advantage of a hat trick by freshman midfielder Emily Belanger (Tampa, Fla.) en route to a 5-4 overtime victory over Hollins University (2-7, 0-5 ODAC) Wednesday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action.
"We showed great heart and determination in this match and although we're not playing our best soccer right now, we are still very happy to get a huge result like this," said Head Coach Linda Schirmeister-Gess. "We are still coming up a bit short defensively, but we know what we have to work on in order to get better. I'm very proud of how we played late in the match especially with so many injuries."
The Wasps got on the board in the middle of the 19th minute as Belanger took a pass from sophomore midfielder Ellyn Colles (Lyndhurst, Ohio) and put it in the back of the net.
Hollins equalized at the 24:28 mark as Dani Franklin found Becca Logan for a goal. Emory & Henry went back up 11:30 later as sophomore midfielder Erica Merriman (Cornelius, N.C.) converted an unassisted goal to give the Wasps a 2-1 lead going into the half.
After the break, Hollins scored two quick goals to take a 3-2 lead. Maran O'Neill scored on a pass from Alicia Johns while Franklin found Morgan Wood on a corner for her second assist of the contest.
Emory & Henry would tie the contest 10 minutes later (63:23) as Belanger got her second goal of the contest and took a 4-3 lead on a score by sophomore defender Sarah Gorenflo (Matthews, N.C.), assisted by freshman midfielder Blair Vaughn (Gate City, Va.) with 20:40 remaining in the contest.
With 8:52 remaining, Hollins found the equalizer once again. O'Neill scored her second of the match on an assist from Kelly Hunt. The match would reach full time knotted at four goals apiece.
In the extra period, Emory & Henry dominated and in the 95th minute, Belanger completed the hat trick to give the Wasps the victory.
For the match, E&H outshot Hollins, 41-17, and held a 9-3 advantage on corner kicks.
The Wasps' goalkeeping tandem of sophomore Becca Hansen (Lumberton, N.C.) and junior Hillary Carter (Culpeper, Va.) made two saves each while Brandi Chesne of Hollins stopped 16 shots.
Emory & Henry will return home on Friday to face Virginia Wesleyan College in an ODAC match. The contest will be a doubleheader with the men's team and will kickoff at 5:00 p.m.
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