OLYMPIA, Wash. – Freshman Melyssa Weber tripled her season goal total with a hat trick as the Northwest Christian Beacons outlasted the Evergreen Geoducks, 3-2, in double overtime in a Cascade Conference women’s soccer match on Friday afternoon at Evergreen Pitch in Olympia, Wash.
Weber opened up the scoring early as the Beacons (5-4-2, 3-0-0 CCC) got on the scoreboard in the sixth minute after the freshman dribbled up the field and fired a shot past Evergreen (0-7-1, 0-3-0 CCC) keeper Lauren Davidson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS) for the 1-0 advantage.
In the second half, Weber doubled the lead for the Beacons in the 53rd minute, taking the cross from Mishayla Bertelsen before finishing on the fair post for the score. The Geoducks cut into the lead in the 69th minute as Katie Mendoza (Burien, Wash./Highline CC) sent in a cross from the left side and senior Haley Lightfoot (Spokane, Wash./North Idaho College) put the ball past NCU’s Kristen Fulbright for Evergreen’s first goal of the afternoon.
Evergreen evened it up in the 74th minute following a foul on the far sideline which allowed Kori Lerch (Chester, Va./Matoaca HS)to send in a great free ball to the waiting head of Sophie Krauza (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial HS), who pushed it into the net for the equalizer.
After a scoreless first overtime, Weber continued her magical match, stealing the ball from an Evergreen defender in the 103rd minute and dribbling around Davidson before putting in the game-winner on an open net for her third goal of the match and sixth goal of the season. With the win, the Beacons remain undefeated in CCC play.
The Beacons held a 15-9 advantage in shots, including 8-3 in the first half. Davidson had a strong day defending the net, finishing with five saves on the day. Fulbright made two saves for the Beacons to collect the win.
Evergreen remains at home on Saturday when they play host to Corban, beginning at 4 p.m. Northwest Christian continues their trip north, taking on Northwest at 3:30 p.m. in Kirkland, Wash.