Mankato, Minn.--- No. 13 Minnesota State was able to pull out a nail biter against Florida Tech 3-2 on Wednesday night at The Pitch.
Minnesota State (2-0-0) came out in a back and forth first half unable to get anything going. The Panthers were able to strike first with a goal by
Veronica Thordardottir in the 41st minute, her first goal of the season, and was assisted by
Maria Munoz. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, MSU was able to turn the game around quickly when senior forward
Julia Zach was able to net her second goal of the season in the 46th minute with senior forward
Morgan Cottew getting the assist. FIT had an answer in the 55th minute when
Elisabeth Stoffel scored her first goal of the season off of a save deflection of the goalkeeper to give the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Senior defender, and reigning
NSIC defensive Player of the Week,
Abby Hausken took matters into her own hands scoring her first goal of the season off of a free kick in the 63rd minute, tying the game 2-2. Teams exchanged scoring opportunities and were not able to finish until sophomore forward
Molly Sarafolean scored the game-winning goal, her first goal of the year, in the 89th with the assist from junior midfielder
Alesha Duccini.
The shot total was won by the Mavericks 28-18 (15-8 on goal) and outshot the Panthers 15-6 in the second half alone.
The Mavericks' junior goalkeeper
Alexa Rabune (2-0-0) was able to make six saves with eight shots on goal and Panthers'
Maria Sanchez Recuero (0-2-1) made 12 saves with 15 shots on goal.
Minnesota State heads to Warrensburg, Mo., for a match-up with reigning NCAA DII National Champion, No.1 Central Missouri on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. before starting conference play.
Listen to Head Coach,
Brian Bahl, Abby Hausken, and Molly Sarafolean give their thoughts on today's win.
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