Junior midfielder Erica Ledger scored off of a deflected shot to give the Cal Poly women’s soccer team a 1-0 overtime victory against No. 23 Fresno State in a nonconference soccer match Sunday afternoon at the Sports Complex.
The two teams held each other scoreless for nearly 97 minutes when the golden goal was recorded.
With 3 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in overtime, sophomore forward Ashley Vallis received the ball and took a hard shot on the outside of the net.
The ball deflected off Fresno State goalkeeper Ashley Larsen to the other side of the goal box. Ledger drove the bouncing ball into the back of the net for the win.
The Mustangs had a number of scoring opportunities during the match, including two great chances to end the game in regulation.
The first came when senior forward Kelsey Carroll redirected a ball that Vallis had shot and hit off the post.
With 4:40 remaining in the half, Carroll had another chance to put the Mustangs ahead when she beat her defender and took a shot that was meant for the upper corner of the goal.
Larsen proved why she has been named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week twice already this season by coming up with saves on both opportunities.
Fresno State’s best scoring opportunity came during the second half when junior goalkeeper Ali Tramel came out for a ball aproximately 15 yards out.
Just as she dove, the ball bounced out and right into the path of Fresno State’s Antonea Lugo, who shot a low-driven ball right at the open net.
However, senior midfielder Heidi McQuitty got her foot on the ball just before in went into the net.
Fresno State had six corner kicks in the match compared to Cal Poly’s four. The Mustangs edged the Bulldogs in fouls, 11-9, and outshot them, 10-6.
Cal Poly’s Tramel notched one save while Larsen had four.
All three losses for Fresno State this week came from Big West Conference schools. The Bulldogs fell to Pacific, 2-1 Tuesday and lost to UC Riverside, 1-0 in overtime Friday.
The Mustangs will be on the road this week as they face UC Davis on Friday and Sacramento State on Sunday. They will return home Oct. 6 for their first conference match against UC Irvine.