Shreveport – The Centenary women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker in double overtime on Sunday to the Southwestern Pirates in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference match at Mayo Field in the final regular season game for both teams.
The Ladies (15-2, 6-2) lost for the first time at home this season, finishing a superb 8-1 at Mayo Field this season, and had their five game winning streak snapped. Centenary, despite the loss, clinched the No. 3 seed in next weekend's 2019 SCAC Women's Soccer Championship in Georgetown, Texas, hosted by Southwestern at Varsity Field. The Ladies and Pirates finished in a tie for second place in the conference standings with 6-2 records but Southwestern earned the No. 2 seed by virtue of Sunday's double-overtime victory. Centenary will play at 1:30 p.m. next Friday, Nov. 8 against either Austin College or Schreiner, one of which will be the No. 6 seed. Southwestern improved to 15-4 overall and 6-2 in SCAC play.
St. Thomas travels to Austin College for a makeup match from a postponement earlier in the season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. An Austin College victory or tie would send the 'Roos to the tournament for the first time since 2017, while a victory by St. Thomas would send Schreiner University to the tournament. Centenary has qualified for the SCAC Women's Championship for the fourth-consecutive season.
Southwestern struck first in Sunday's match with a goal just minutes before halftime as forward Juliet Pridgen scored an unassisted goal. The Pirates took that 1-0 lead to the break. That score stood until the five and a half minutes remaining in the match when star senior forward Kyra Montes (Shreveport) took a feed from fellow senior Migui Boldrin (Ribeiaro, Brazil) and found the back of the net to tie the game as the crowd and Centenary bench erupted with excitement and relief.
The teams then battled for 10 scoreless minutes in the first overtime period and then in the 115th minute of the match, Southwestern's Karlee Holmes snuck a ball past Centenary goalkeeper Maggie Pitcher (San Antonio, Texas) for the walk-off win which left the Ladies and the home crowd in stunned silence. Pitcher played every minute of the match and recorded five saves. Southwestern keeper Mary Cardone also made five saves. The Ladies took 20 shots to 13 for the Pirates and held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
The Maroon and White completed one of the most impressive regular seasons in school history this season. The 2019 Ladies set new program marks for wins in a season in the division III era (15), goals in a single game (six), goals in a season (46), points in a season (129) and assists in a season (37). The Ladies also went 6-1 away from home this season and allowed one goal or less in 12 of 17 matches this season.
Montes and Boldrin, two potential SCAC Women's Soccer Player of the Year candidates, finished the regular season first and second in the SCAC in points, points per game, goals, goals per game, and game-winning goals. Montes lead the conference in assists, assists per game, whole Boldrin leads in shots and shots per game. The dynamic duo has combined for an astounding 27 goals, 17 assists, 71 points, and eight game-winning goals this season.
Centenary ranks seconds in the SCAC in both points and goals and second in assists, assists per game, and goals per game. The Ladies also allowed the fourth-fewest goals in the conference and their goals against average was third-best.
Be sure to check www.gocentenary.com and Centenary athletics on social media this week leading up to the SCAC Women's Championship. #GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
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