LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When it comes to the most memorable goal in a career,
Samantha Ferry sure has set the bar high for the next four years.
On Saturday at Owsley B. Frazier Stadium, the freshman midfielder scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime as the Bellarmine University women's soccer team rallied to upset No. 2 Grand Valley State 2-1 in the Knights' season opener.
"We won a big game but the way we did it and the number of comments I've gotten about how hard we played is wonderful," Bellarmine Coach
Chris Tinius said.
In the 109th minute, Ferry and sophomore forward
Annabel Moore pulled off a perfect give-and-go, as Ferry managed to beat a defender to Moore's pass just inside the box and fire over Grand Valley State's goalkeeper for the 'golden goal.' It was the first collegiate goal of Ferry's career.
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Samantha Ferry has brought some extra grit to our attack," Tinius said. "She had a chance at the end of the first half where she had a bit of a mistouch. We told her she'd get another opportunity and she made the most of it."
Grand Valley State (0-1), which has won five of the last eight national championships, took a 1-0 lead over Bellarmine (1-0) early in the second half as Gabriella Mencotti, the reigning D2CCA Player of the Year, received a pass from Makenna Schoolman and connected in the 48th minute.
Grand Valley State's defense rarely gave Bellarmine any room to operate, but the Lakers made a costly mistake by committing a handball in the box late in the match. Keeper Jennifer Steinaway dove to stop
Audrey Van Der Elst's penalty kick, but the Knights' junior midfielder raced forward and punched in the rebound to knot it at 1-1 in the 85th minute.
Grand Valley State finished with a 16-10 advantage in shots, but Bellarmine had a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. Senior goalie
Taylor Smith had three saves in collecting the win.
"Grand Valley always puts you under a lot of pressure," Tinius said. "I thought we brought a lot of energy early and we hung in there even though we weren't playing our best soccer all the time. You have to take what they give you at times and make sure you create when you have the right moments and we did that. Our center backs and goalkeeping were as good as we could ask for."
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