DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University women's soccer played out a thrilling 90 minutes as the Cougars came out on top of Randolph College, 2-1.
Averett (3-6-2, 2-3-0 ODAC) played hard wire-to-wire against Randolph (6-4-2, 1-3-0 ODAC) and needed nearly every second of the game's 90 minutes in order to secure a crucial conference victory.
The WildCats drew first blood after the teams played out a stalemate in the first half. Randolph struck the back of the net in the 61st minute after a frenetic start to the second half.
The Cougars responded well to keep the pressure on the visiting side. In the 65th minute it was none other than senior forward Celia de Diego to draw Averett back level. Sophomore Leah Brethren slotted a perfect ball from her right-wing position to set de Diego in alone against the WildCats' keeper. As she's done more than anyone in program history to date, de Diego capitalized on the chance. As the goal slid past the keeper, so too did de Diego's name slide to the very top of the Averett record book. Already the all-time goal leader for the Cougars, de Diego now stands alone on top of the program's greatest points scorers.
Despite de Diego's monumental accomplishment, the game remained entirely undecided with just under half an hour left until the final whistle. Chaos ensued as the Cougars mounted chance after chance in Randolph's half of the field. The WildCats turned away Averett time after time with tenacious defense and a friendly whistle, until the Cougars were finally able to strike.
On a wild sequence of events that kicked off with an Averett free kick in a good position, sophomore Hailey Juhasz played a ball through to junior Isobel Evans, and after the ball ricocheted off of seemingly every Randolph defender, Evans found herself in alone against the keeper. Evans placed the ball brilliantly out of reach of Randolph's last line of defense and Averett snatched a 2-1 lead that it would not relinquish.
The WildCats threw their best effort Averett's way in the game's waning seconds, but the Cougars' defense held strong. Sophomore goalkeeper Tiia Chrons locked things down with seven saves, as Averett rallied to put the game on ice on a chilly night in Danville, Virginia.
Averett women's soccer looks to ride the high of a conference victory into its next match, as the Cougars travel to face the University of Lynchburg at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
