OLYMPIA - Irina Lyons scored a hat trick, including the winning goal just 43 seconds from the end of extra time, as The Evergreen State College concluded its 2014 women's soccer season Saturday afternoon with a 3-2 double-overtime Cascade Collegiate Conference win over Warner Pacific at Geoduck Pitch.
The Geoducks end their season with a 5-10-1 overall record, including a 3-5-1 mark in the CCC. Warner Pacific is 7-9-2 overall, 4-4-1 in the conference, and plays next week in the CCC postseason tournament.
Lyons, who came into the match with one goal this season, scored all three today after the halftime break to wipe away a 1-0 Warner Pacific lead.
The Knights scored in the 13th minute on
Crystal Foster's seventh goal of the season.
Ashley Valencia pushed a ball through the defense into open space on the left side, where Foster ran onto it and finished to the far right side of the net.
The Knights were rewarded for their early control of the match, but as the half went on the Geoducks started getting more of the play. Rayna Rain, one of four Evergreen seniors playing their final collegiate match, was particularly troublesome for the Warner Pacific defense down the left wing.
Evergreen got onto the board a little less than two minutes into the second half when Kenzie Phillips hit a long ball over the Warner Pacific defense. Lyons got to the ball first and hit a bullet from about 15 yards past Knights keeper
Allie Holterman to knot the game at 1-1.
Phillips and Lyons teamed up for the second goal in the 58th minute. This time Phillips sent a through ball on the ground to Lyons, and again she was there first to finish from about 12 yards in front of the goal.
The Knights regained some momentum and finally tied the score in the 71st minute on Foster's second tally of the contest and eighth of the year. Evergreen senior keeper Kyla Kitts got her gloves on the ball but couldn't prevent it from trickling across the line. About six minutes before that Kitts came off her line for a leg save on a scoring attempt by Foster.
Warner Pacific had the only two shots of the first 10-minute overtime period but the Geoducks did have a dangerous corner kick opportunity that went for naught. Shot attempts were tied at 2-2 in the final extra period but Lyons put home the final attempt to give Evergreen the victory.
The play was set up when Holterman got just enough of a shot by Phillips to deflect the Evergreen shot attempt wide of the left post. That led to a corner kick, and after a brief scramble senior Delaney Smith crossed the ball in to Lyons, who knocked it home from the middle of the penalty area.
~Story courtesy of Evergreen sports information~
