PELLA — After 100 minutes of action, the Central College women's soccer team lit up the scoreboard on a Lauryn Kramer (sophomore, Cedar Falls)goal in the second overtime period to defeat Nebraska Wesleyan University 1-0 and advance in the Iowa Conference tournament.
The victory gives the Dutch (15-3-1, 6-2-0 Conference) a third appearance in the league tournament semifinals in the last five years. They will take on Luther College next Wednesday in Decorah at 7 p.m.
Deadlocked at 0-0 through the first overtime, Central made its move just two minutes into the second overtime. The action started with a long pass in from midfielder Caitlyn Champ (sophomore, Kearney, Mo.) to senior midfielder Kayla Sunvold (Runnells, Southeast Polk HS). Kramer took it from there, netting her third game-winning goal of the season.
"Caitlyn served in a beautiful ball from 40 yards out," coach Mike Kobylinski said. "Kayla collected it nicely and played it off to Lauryn who buried it home with a composed finish. I'm happy for her to get that goal because she does a lot of the dirty work for us."
Sunvold's assist on the golden goal was her 10th of the year, breaking a program record. Picking up her fifth shutout of the season, goalkeeper Sydney Lunardi (Bettendorf, Davenport Assumption HS) saved the only shot that came on frame.
She faced just four shots total, thanks in large part to the dynamic Dutch defense limiting the Prairie Wolves (7-11-1, 2-5-1 IIAC) to four total shots. Defenders Kayla Dowell (junior, Cedar Falls), Jackie Sunderman (junior, Pella), Kelsey Roxworthy (senior, St. Charles, Ill., East HS)and Rachel Verhun (junior, Ann Arbor, Mich., Pioneer HS) played the entire 102 minutes.
"Sydney is a special goalkeeper," Kobylinski said. "But she'll be the first credit the four players in front of her. They played really well today."
Injuries have affected Central all season long and once again the Dutch were forced to play down a player. The leader on the team in shot attempts, freshman midfielder Mikaela Erickson (Spring Lake, Mich., Western Christian HS) was out with an injury, allowing for Champ to step into the lineup.
"We've showed resilience all season when it comes to injuries," Kobylinski said. "We've adopted a 'next woman up' mentality and Caitlyn was a perfect example of that today."
The focus shifts towards the semifinal matchup with the Norse (10-2-3, 6-0-2), who previously defeated Central 2-0 on October 22.
"Luther's a fantastic side, but we think we are too," Kobylinski said. "We've got to focus on ourselves and hopefully we'll come home with a win on Wednesday."
