DePaul University
Minnesota
Gorden Simply Golden in Win Over Minnesota
9/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
CHICAGO, Ill. - Sarah Gorden had been flying down the right wing all afternoon, but missing connections on her crosses to the middle.
This time, she decided to let it rip.
Gorden's golden goal in the 100th minute gave DePaul a 2-1 overtime victory over Minnesota Sunday at Wish Field.
It was the Blue Demons' second win in a row after opening the season with five losses. "It was an awesome feeling," Gorden said about the game winner which was also the freshman defender's first collegiate goal. "I knew after the first step that I had beaten the defender.
"Every time I tell myself not to overshoot it, that's what happens. This time, I didn't think anything and just went on instinct."
Trailing 1-0 late in regulation time, Ashleigh Goddard came through with a huge goal in the 84th minute on an assist from Morgan Celaya to send the match into overtime.
Goddard and Celaya had just entered the game one minute earlier before teaming up on the score.
Goddard stayed poised in taking the pass from Celaya and flicked a shot into the lower right of the Minnesota net for her second goal of the season.
"Ashleigh is such an awesome player, and once she got the pass from Morgan, we knew it was going to be a goal," Gorden said. "Morgan played a great ball to her after beating the defender one-on-one.
"Winning these last two feels so great after losing the first five. All our hard work is finally paying off."
After a slow start, the Blue Demons came alive in the second half. They outshot Minnesota 7-1 after halftime.
Minnesota controlled the run of play in the first half. The Gophers had several dangerous chances early in the match, including one shot that went off the post.
Josie Solie put Minnesota ahead 1-0 in the 38th minute on a header in front of the DePaul net. It came off a corner kick by Nicole Baier.
Minnesota (3-5-0) went into halftime with a 7-2 advantage in shots and had three shots on goal to none for DePaul (2-5-0). In corner kicks, the Gophers had seven attempts to two for the Blue Demons.
"It took us a whole half to figure out Minnesota's style of play," said DePaul coach Erin Chastain. "We let them dictate things in the first half, but our group played really well in the second half and generated scoring chances.
"Sarah was beating Minnesota on the right side all game, and this was the most aggressive she has played this season. There had not been any teammates in the box for her crosses, so she made a good decision to shoot one.
"On our first goal, Morgan did a nice job with her one-on-one dribble and slotted a great ball to Ashleigh, who had a very good finish."
Chastain said something about DePaul had changed during halftime.
"It was a different team that showed up for the second half," Chastain said. "It was one that believed in each of the teammates and in our style of play.
"We can build on this going into Friday's BIG EAST Conference opener against Cincinnati."
There was a moment of silence before the match for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington and in Pennsylvania.
Sunday was also Alumni Day with former men's and women's Blue Demon soccer players being recognized at halftime.
