After a 7-1 non-league victory Wednesday evening at Newbury College for their first win of the season, the Mount Ida College women's soccer team dropped an opening Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) loss to visiting University of St. Joseph (CT) Saturday afternoon in Newton, Massachusetts on Alumni Field falling 2-1 in overtime.
The Mustangs fall to an overall record of 1-2-0 and 0-1-0 in conference competition, while the Blue Jays improve to an overall record of 2-1-0 with a league slate of 1-0-0.
Mount Ida took the opening lead in the ninth minute of play on sophomore midfielder Sierra Legge's (Schodack Landing, NY/Maple Hill) second score of the year off an unassisted bid for the 1-0 advantage early. Legge caught a rolling rebound that she deposited into the top right corner on an impressive shot for the lead.
The action was very stagnant going back and forth from then on, the game picked back up with less than three minutes to go in regulation. USJ sophomore midfielder Dayna Gambino (Newington, CT/Newington) fired a shot from the right side of the box that was redirected by a Mount Ida defender catching Mustangs freshman goaltender Samantha Basler (Plymouth, MA/Plymouth North) off line. Gambino's shot found the right hand top corner of the net on a feed from junior Patricia Nolan (Portland, CT/Portland) tying the game late in action knotting the game at 1-1.
Neither squad could convert for the rest of the second half sending the conference contest into overtime.
The Mustangs were completely out of gas in the extra period still acclimating to the hot turf surface of Alumni Field. Mount Ida would surrender the golden goal in the 94th minute of play off a score from Nolan dished out by junior forward Tiana Saraceno (Plainville, CT/Plainville) for the sudden death 2-1 GNAC win.
Basler saw every minute between the pipes for the Mustangs with four saves while Blue Jays net minder, freshman Melissa Dodge (Watertown, CT/Watertown) stopped six Mount Ida shots.
The Mustangs will host GNAC member Anna Maria College Tuesday afternoon with game time slated for 3:30 p.m.