LYNCHBURG, VA. – The William Peace women's soccer team traveled to take on the Wildcats of Randolph College Tuesday in their final tune up before jumping into conference play this upcoming weekend. Both teams were held scoreless up until the final minute of regulation, but the Wildcats scored a controversial goal with 40 seconds left to down the Pacers, 1-0.
The Pacers kicked the ball out of bounds for a Randolph throw in with approximately 50 seconds left. During the process of getting the ball back in play, a second ball ended up on the field. There was confusion among the players, however, there was no call and play continued.
Leah Hughes threw it into Brittany Hammons, who immediately touched it back to Hughes, who then found Meghan Curtin with a cross into the box. Curtin caught it off her chest, settled it, and then put it past Shannon Maddex who was quickly approaching to intercept the shot.
"This was the best game we have played all year in terms of putting a full 90 minutes together, so it was incredibly frustrating for the game to end in the fashion that it did," said head coach Keith Jenkins. "Who knows what the end result would have been if the proper call was made, but I do know having two balls on the field at the same time absolutely affected the play, and I just hate it for our ladies because they put forward a tremendous effort."
WPU was under duress at times in the first half as Randolph fired off 10 shots, seven of which were on goal, but all of them were saved by keeper Shannon Maddex who finished the match with eight saves.
Devin Thompson also had a particularly strong game for the Pacer's as she prevented several goal scoring opportunities from taking place.
It was the Pacers who were applying pressure after the break. They were able to control possession and the momentum for much of the second half. They outshot Randolph, 7-4, during the final 45 minutes of regulation, but they never were able to find the back of the net.
WPU women's soccer kicks off their conference schedule this weekend traveling to Maryville Friday for a 6:00 p.m. match. They'll face the Lions of Piedmont College Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
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