Tigers rally to seize 2-1 overtime victory

Sunday, September 23

Memphis, Tenn.

12:00 PM

University of Memphis

10-1-0 (2-0AAC)

East Carolina*

5-3-2 (0-2AAC)

OT 2

ECU

Memphis

Photo by: Michael Wade

Sep 23, 2018 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Despite a second-half deficit, the Memphis women's soccer team rallied late to claim its second league victory of the weekend with a 2-1 overtime thriller against the ECU Pirates.

Trailing 1-0 in the latter minutes of the second half, the Tigers (10-1-0, 2-0-0) broke through on a Jessica Lisi penalty kick, and Samantha Murphy's Golden Goal in overtime led Memphis to its eighth straight victory.

"It was a hard-fought battle. We told our kids, 'You're created this for yourself. You're going to get everybody's best game,'" head coach Brooks Monaghan said. "I think we started a little lax, and that's credit to East Carolina. They set the tone."

After a defensive struggle through the first opening minutes, ECU (5-3-2, 1-1-0) got on the board first with a goal in 43^rd minute to take a 1-0 advantage into halftime.

"We didn't panic. We told them (the intensity) had to get better, and if you can win that part of the game, that can open things up," Monaghan said of the halftime mentality. "I was proud of the girls. I thought they lifted it a notch, and I believe that was the reason we won the game."

The Pirates continued to surge to open the second half before Memphis shifted the momentum.

In the 70^th minute, a handball called in front of the goal led to a Memphis penalty kick. Lisi lined up and connected on her second PK of the season and fourth goal of the year.

"I knew it was make or break. I stuck with what I know and was confident I was going to go that way, and it ended up going in," Lisi said of the shot. "Our momentum really picked up. We needed one to prove to ourselves we were still in it and that it wasn't over."

Memphis continued to add pressure to open the overtime session. A shot by Marie Levasseur sailed wide but kept the momentum established.

In the 93^rd minute, Stasia Mallin sent a pass to Clarissa Larisey in the box. Larisey tapped a drop pass to Murphy, who lasered the ball past the keeper for the win.

"Lari set me up with a perfect ball. It was in the right spot at the right time. It took the whole team to put that together," Murphy said. "We worked really hard to grind it out. We came back as a team and had a feeling that all the work we put in started to come together."

After a week away from the pitch, the Tigers will return to action with their first road conference weekend. Memphis is set to face Houston on Oct. 4 before a trip to Dallas to face SMU on Oct. 7.