(Box Score) Lancaster, PA — A 0-0, double-overtime tie may not have been the ideal result after making a near 11-hour trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvana, but the alternative could have been worse.
Fortunately for the Goshen College women’s soccer team, Emmy Gibson was on their side.
Playing arguably her finest game as a collegian, the junior goalkeeper notched a season-high 10 saves and thwarted what could have been — what should have been — a game-winning score from EMU in the second overtime, preserving the draw and averting near disaster. Despite having a fair share of opportunities on its offensive half of the field, it was Goshen (1-4-1, 0-0) that breathed a collective sigh of relief at the game’s conclusion: Eastern Mennonite took 24 shots compared to the Leafs’ nine, as a packed house nearly willed the designated hosts to the win.
“I think it’s safe to say that we played our best match yet this season,” said Thavisith Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “I was extremely pleased as EMU is a very solid and skillful team. Emmy Gibson was especially spectacular, but we have shown much improvement in the area of passing and creating spaces.”
In a sister-institution contest packed with storylines — and played at Lancaster Mennonite High School — Goshen began play in strong fashion. Early pushes at the Royals’ goal helped Mounsithiraj’s team control possession, as senior Sara Groff and sophomore Kaylee Pichardo each had quality looks at goal.
As the game wore on, however, it was EMU that began to control the tempo, establishing a firm attack in the front and making Gibson work. Goshen assistant coach Tera Furman cited the effects of the trip — the Leafs’ traveled via charter bus for the majority of daylight hours on Friday — as becoming more apparent with each tick of the clock.
“We began to look more fatigued,” she said. “I think the length of the trip began to take its toll on us. Our substitutes kept the intensity up, and all 16 players who played gave quality minutes, but it was simply a fatigue thing. EMU looked fresher late.”
While using their substitutes deliberately, Mounsithiraj and Furman were forced to make a permanent substitution for freshman Chelsea Graber midway through the second half. While fighting an EMU midfielder for a loose ball, Graber leapt and landed awkwardly on her right foot, planting her toe into the ground and hyper-extending her ankle. Initial, on-field diagnosis from EMU training personnel was a broken tibia, but x-rays at Lancaster Community Hospital would later come back negative.
“Chelsea suffered a high-ankle sprain, but it is severe,” Furman would say after the game. “It’s an injury that really hurts us. Chelsea has been playing well lately and giving us a lot of good minutes.”
Looking to fill the void left by Graber and trying to squeeze in rest for the remaining players, the Leafs were greeted with extra minutes as regulation ended. As the overtimes ensued, EMU continued to become more aggressive, forcing Gibson into some athletic — if not acrobatic — saves.
“Emmy did a nice job of coming out of goal to challenge some one on one opportunities, and made the right reads in the box at other times,” Furman said. “She really played well.”
Goshen sophomore Trish Hershberger nearly ended the contest midway through the first overtime, but her shot off a counter attack went just wide.
EMU’s best chance to end everything was much greater.
With just over five minutes to play in the second overtime, the Royals broke through Goshen’s defense and had a wide-open look at the Leafs’ goal (save for Gibson) from well inside the 18-yard box. As the crowd gasped in anticipation of the golden goal, Gibson hurled herself to the right post, fully extending and deflecting a point-blank range off the end line.
It was a good enough save that even the EMU fans applauded.
“Emmy’s save was one of the best saves I’ve ever seen, and it has to be one of the best saves she’s ever made in her life,” Furman said. “She was five feet off the ground, horizontally, and fully outstretched. It was absolutely awesome.”
Dejected, Eastern Mennonite could not duplicate such a scoring chance. The Royals finished with 10 shots on goal to Goshen’s six — Pichardo led the club with two — while both teams attempted three corner kicks.
“The depth in our midfield allowed us to make some good attacking runs in the final third, and our young defensive unit continued to play solidly,” Mounsithiraj said. “Emmy, again, was incredible. She did extremely well with crosses in this match. It is encouraging to see that this team is starting to emerge a bit in our last two matches.”
Perhaps Goshen’s only negative on the evening was the injury to Graber, as Goshen College athletic training personnel declared Graber out for a week, at minimum. Furman said she fears Graber will be sidelined for a longer stint.
There is no rest for the weary, however, as the Leafs return to the Goshen College Soccer Complex — and to Mid-Central Conference play — Wednesday evening, as the team will host 14th-ranked Spring Arbor University. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Junior Emmy Gibson