CALDWELL, Idaho –
Brooklyn Ruwe's first career goal in the 100th minute capped off a 2-1 win for The College of Idaho over conference front-runner Northwest on Saturday.
After receiving a long through ball from
Sydney Clements, Ruwe raced past the defense and won a 1-v-1 battle, firing a missile from point-blank range past goalkeeper Kat Sanchez to send the Yotes (5-5-4, 4-4-2 CCC) into the final weekend of the regular season on a high note.
Previously unbeaten in Cascade Conference play, the Eagles (13-3-0, 9-1-0 CCC) had their hands full early and often against a C of I team that is playing its best soccer of the season at the right time of the year.
For the second day in a row,
Chloe Teets placed a corner kick in the perfect spot, setting
Brynna Herridge up directly in front of the net in the 24th minute for an opportunity that the redshirt freshman would capitalize on to give the Yotes a 1-0 lead.
Despite a 24-8 deficit in shots for the match, C of I was in control of the one goal lead for the next 49 minutes.
Northwest tallied their lone goal of the match in the 73rd minute on a high rocket from 20-yards out off the foot of Callie Wright, who placed the ball just over the outstretched hands of keeper
Kylee Atkins and into the upper portion of the net to even the score at 1-1.
With the score knotted up, the Yotes faced a trio of dangerous looks from the Eagles in the final eight minutes, including a shot attempt by Wright in the 85th minute which was blocked in the net by
Madison Glascock to save what would have been the tiebreaking goal. Atkins made a save of her own on a Rylee Rassier attempt in the 88th minute to force the match into extra time.
Atkins played a pivotal role throughout for C of I, slowing down a team that had outscored its previous six opponents by a combined total of 20-1. The junior keeper finished with nine saves on the day.
Saturday marked the first time in 2019 that the Yotes or their opponent have scored in overtime, a stretch that had spanned almost 90 full minutes before the Ruwe goal. The first four overtime matches this season had all resulted in draws.
The win is the first for the Yotes since Oct. 8, 2010 over Northwest and propels C of I into the top eight in the CCC standings with 14 points. The top eight teams in the standings at the conclusion of the season will advance to the conference tournament starting on Nov. 12 at the Les Schwab Sports Park in Springfield, Ore.
Two matches remain on the regular season slate, with Multnomah coming to Simplot Stadium next Friday and Warner Pacific in Caldwell on Sunday for the finale.
