NYU women’s soccer won 3-2 in double overtime against the University of Rochester on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Violets improved to an 8-3 record overall and a 1-1 conference record after the hard-fought victory at home.
The Violets took the lead in the 15th minute with a goal from freshman forward Melissa Menta off a free kick by senior captain Serra Tumay. The Rochester Yellowjackets tied the game 1:21 before halftime when sophomore Hayley Engel buried a shot inside the left post. The Violets responded quickly with a goal by sophomore forward Claire Shanahan and went into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
Rochester tied the score once again in the 60th minute, which was the only goal of the
second half.
The match entered overtime, with the score tied at 2-2. After the first overtime of 10 minutes, the teams were still knotted at two. But in the second overtime, Menta scored a game-winning goal with just 1:38 left to play.
“It is tough to go into double overtime, especially since we had done so in the previous game,” said sophomore forward Cami Crawford. “We worked as hard as we could for the win because that was all we could do, and it ended up in our favor.”
The Violets have seven games left in the season, and five are against University Athletic Association opponents.
“It was very exciting to win our first home conference game in front of lots of friends and family,” sophomore goalkeeper Meg Patten said. “We played with a lot of heart, which is what it comes down to when you go into double overtime. We played beautiful, quick soccer and were composed, which propelled us to the win.”
The team will return to Gaelic Park on Monday, Oct. 8, at 4 p.m. to face St. Joseph’s College.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday Oct. 8, print edition. Chris Marcotrigiano is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].