PIKEVILLE, Ky. - UPIKE women's soccer won a shootout thriller over Union Commonwealth in round one of the 2024 AAC Women's Soccer Tournament.
UCU's Jennifer Reyes had the match's first scoring chance in the 4', with an excellent shot from 20 yards out but the shot went wide. Millie Conod turned away the Bulldogs' next two scoring chances, one off a shot from Rosalinda Sanchez and the other a header from Shaylynn Bentley.
UPIKE's first scoring chance of the match in the 24' when Kylie Ritter hit the crossbar and then Sadie Bourgeois's header was saved by UCU's Chiara Isanto. The Bears' next scoring opportunity came off the foot of Ruby D'Arcy in the 42' but it went wide. UPIKE and Union went to the halftime break tied 0-0 on the scoreboard and 4-4 in the shot category.
The Bears got the offense going early in the second half with three shot attempts from minutes 51' to 58'. Kylie Ritter had a shot attempt that went wide, then had an attempt that went high. Ellie Webb had a shot attempt on a free kick that sailed above the net.
Union's first good scoring chance of the second half came in the 72' off the foot of Shaylynn Bentley and it went wide. Iyana Campbell had Union's next shot and it also went wide of the net. The Bears had a few scoring chances late, including a free kicks by Ellie Webb and Anna Dudas that sailed over the net. After 90 minutes of scoreless play, UPIKE and Union went to a sudden-death overtime.
The first overtime period was an intense, back-and-forth match. Union fired two shots on frame, but Millie Conod turned away both Bulldog attempts, including a shot from Alberta Yirenkyi with three seconds left. After 100 minutes of play, it was still a scoreless affair and the teams went to a second overtime.
Overtime two was controlled by the Bears. UPIKE had two shots on goal in the first five minutes of 2OT, one from Charlene Lofqvist and the other from Sadie Bourgeois. Both were turned away by UCU's Chiara Isanto. Later in the period, the Bulldogs made a push deep in the UPIKE zone, but Bianca Ostlund made an excellent play to clear the ball. After 110 minutes, the Bears and Bulldogs went to a shootout.
Each team had five attempts at goal in the shootout. Union elected to shoot first, and they scored on their first shot. Ellie Webb took UPIKE's first attempt and scored. Union scored in round two, as did UPIKE when Kiera Bailey fired a shot by Isanto.
In round three, Millie Conod turned away Union's Alexis Schweitzer but Isanto turned away Kylie Ritter's shot on frame so it was 2-2 after three rounds. Union scored in round four, and UPIKE matched with a goal by Anna Dudas. Both teams' shots were unsuccessful in round five, so it was a 3-3 tie after five shootout rounds.
After five rounds, the teams go to a sudden death. In the top of the sixth round, Union keeper Chiara Isanto lined up against Millie Conod. Conod made an excellent save, setting up Jayla Boyd with an opportunity to win it. Boyd, with the match on her foot, fired a shot past Isanto to win the shootout 4-3 and sent the Bears to round two of the 2024 AAC Tournament.
UPIKE finished the match with a 13-12 advantage in shot attempts, but Union held a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. Millie Conod turned away all six Bulldog shots she faced and made three saves during the shootout.
Wednesday's win was the first conference tournament win in program history.
"This season has been about making history. UPIKE has never seen a team like this, and I am proud to be a part of it," said senior goalkeeper Millie Conod.
With the win Wednesday, Coach Logan Langseth's team moves on to the second round. The Bears will hit the road to take on the No. 1 seed Truett McConnell Bears Saturday. Kickoff time for UPIKE and TMU is TBA.
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