Soccer Edges Ole Miss 3-2 In Overtime

OXFORD, Miss. - Junior Nikki Marshall scored two goals to lead the University of Colorado women's soccer team in a terrific come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over the Ole Miss Rebels here Friday night.

"We went down early, but they didn't bark at each other or ever lose control of the game," said head coach Bill Hempen. "They got back to business and took advantage of their chances."

With the win, Colorado claimed its fourth-straight victory and improved to 4-1-1, 1-0 Big 12, while Ole Miss fell to 1-3-2.

The Buffs went down 2-0 in the first half as the Rebels' first goal came from Jennifer Hance in the 18th minute of the game. Hance took a shot from outside of the penalty box and buried it in the upper 90 past CU goalkeeper Kara Linder.

The Rebels would strike again at the 32:40 mark when Hannah Weatherly carried a ball across the top of the box and fired a shot from 20 yards out. She hit the shot towards the left side of the goal and it just barely squeezed in-between the goal post and a diving Linder, giving Ole Miss the 2-0 lead over Colorado.

CU continued to rally but was unable to finish any of their chances as the Buffs outshot the Rebels eight to three in the first half, but did not have anything on the score sheet to show for it.

The second half would prove to be an entirely different story for Colorado.

The Buffs got down on the Ole Miss side field and earned a hard-fought corner kick 28 minutes into the second half. Freshman Kelly Butler stepped up to take the kick and sent the ball directly in the middle of the goal towards Marshall. Marshall fully extended in front of the goal and headed the ball in the back of the net, putting CU on the board and the score at 2-1.

Colorado would tie the game in the final minutes as senior Nikki Keller took a pass from Butler and after taking a few touches outside of the box, she fired a shot toward the right post and into the back of the net. Keller's second goal of the season evened the score with just under six minutes left to play in regulation.

"The whole first half we possessed better than they did but we couldn't get it in the back of the net," said Keller. "We talked at half time about attacking them the way they were coming at us and we shut down their opportunities and we took advantage of ours."

Colorado finished regulation with a decisive edge in shots, getting off 19 shots to the Rebels' 10, with 11 of CU's shots coming on goal.

Marshall and the Buffs would need just under two minutes of extra time to seal the deal as defender Kelly Ross sent a long ball down the field to a sprinting Marshall. Marshall took one touch inside the box and was able to get the shot off around the diving Ole Miss goalkeeper to give CU the 3-2 win. Scored 1:32 seconds into overtime, the goal proved to be the third quickest overtime goal in program history.

Marshall's two-goal effort moves her closer to becoming CU's all-time leading scorer as she is now tied with former Buff Fran Munnelly in the No. 2 spot with 30 career goals, just three shy of breaking the school record.

"It's really hard for me to single out Nikki (Marshall) tonight but she went above and beyond for us," said Hempen. "Not only did she score the first goal, but the second goal she scored on a bad ankle. She was hobbling around and I knew she was hurt but her adrenaline carried her through and she found a way.

"Michelle Wenino was brilliant tonight and played so hard. Alex (Cousins) was great. We had some great individual efforts but in the end it was the entire team that played hard and this could be one of those wins that could really change things for us."

For the first time since 2006, Colorado overcame a two goal deficit and emerged with the win by way of the biggest comeback in school history. The last time CU accomplished the feat was when the Buffaloes battled back against Texas A&M in the 2006 Big 12 Tournament. Down two goals in the second half, Marshall had an almost identical game as she did tonight, scoring the game-tying and game-winning goal against the Aggies for the come-from-behind 3-2 win.

"I think we had a great defensive effort as a whole," said Wenino. "One of their forwards kept flicking the ball on and we noticed that and we were able to adjust. In the first half it was harder for us to get the ball out but in the second half we pushed up and the midfielders helped us get it out, and it proved to be a total team effort."

"This win really shows a lot of character, which Colorado prides itself on," said Marshall. "We don't have a lot of players on the National team but we have girls that give 100% every day and pour their heart and soul into every game. Tonight showed us a lot about our potential."

Colorado will wrap up the weekend and look to continue their winning streak as they travel to Memphis, Tenn. where they will face the Memphis Tigers on Sunday, Sept. 14 at noon.

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Team Stats

Nikki Marshall

Nikki Keller

Kelly Ross

Kelly Butler

Players Mentioned

Kelly Butler

Nikki Keller

Kara Linder

Nikki Marshall

Kelly Ross

Michelle Wenino

Players Mentioned

Kelly Butler

Nikki Keller

Kara Linder

Nikki Marshall

Kelly Ross

Michelle Wenino