A NAIA top-25 battle between the (3) Benedictine Women's Soccer and (24) the Central Methodist Eagles ended with a golden goal scored by the Ravens Nicole Kelly. It was Kelly's second goal of the contest.
After the CMU (7-3-0, 2-1-0 Heart) tied the score 1-1 in the 86th minute, the contest moved to extra time. Benedictine (9-0-1, 3-0-0 Heart) created offense early in the first extra time period and it paid off as Emily Ambuul sent in a long cross from the right side that Kelly tracked down. After gaining possession, Kelly sent a left footed shot past CMU's Ashlynn Freeman for the game-winner in the 95th minute.
The Ravens held a 1-0 lead for a large portion of the contest. Kelly scored in the 20th minute on a shot outside the 18-yard box that beat Freeman to her left side.
The Ravens managed to hold possession for much of the first half, recording nine shots, two of those on goal. The Eagles had three shots, two on goal. CMU was called for seven fouls in the first half and Benedictine was whistled for three first-half fouls.
Benedictine again created several scoring opportunities in the second half. The Ravens finished the night with 24 shots compared to 12 for the Eagles. Of those 24 shots, 14 were on goal and the Eagles finished with seven shots on goal.
Ashley Rehagen recorded four saves but left the contest after a collision that occurred during the CMU goal. On the play, Judith Sainz sent a cross toward goal that forced Rehagen to dive. Anika Kallash was able to place the rebound in the net to tie the score. Olivia Berry played the remainder of the contest in goal for the Ravens, recording two saves.
Benedictine finished the match with seven fouls while CMU had 13 fouls.
Kelly paced the Ravens offense, taking eight shots with six of those taken on goal. Ambuul had two shots on goal and three shots, total.
CMU's goal was the first allowed by the Ravens since a Sept. 5 win against LSU-Shreveport.
The Ravens hit the road for their next match on Saturday, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa, to take on Mount Mercy University.
