Sophomore Danielle Darius scored just 1:13 into the first overtime period to give the Emory University Women's Soccer team a 3-2 victory over the Berry College Vikings on Wednesday night at the Woodruff PE Center. With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-3 on the year with the Vikings dropping to 4-3 with the loss.
Darius netted the game winner from right in front following a corner pass from Shivani Beall and a deflection off senior Cristina Ramirez. The tally was Darius's third goal of the season and the second in as many games as well as her first career game-winner.
The Eagles began the scoring late in the first half as senior Hannah Meyer put the Blue and Gold in the scoring column. Meyer tapped in her first goal of year following a long free kick from sophomore Nikki Batt that bounced over goalkeeper's head and right to a streaking Meyer. 2:54 minutes later, sophomore Sophia Dillon made it 2-0 as she scored from the middle of the box after two nice passes from classmates Jordan Doak and Darius.
The Vikings changed the momentum of the contest with two goals in the span of 33 seconds midway through the second half to tie the game at two. Maggie Midkiff had a long kick sail to the back corner of the net to cut the deficit to one. Then moments later, Bella Fornuto dished a ball from midfield to teammate Meredith Beretta who ran behind several Eagle defenders before finishing to the far post past a diving Dani Staffin to tie the game with 24:42 remaining in the second half.
In the closing minutes of regulation, Emory had two chances to seal the victory but failed to cash in. With just over four minutes left on the clock, Ramirez had a one-on-one opportunity inside the box but was chased down by a Berry defender before she was able to get a shot off. One minute later, junior Melissa Ardizzone had a golden opportunity to win the game for the Eagles but her shot on an empty net went high and hit the crossbar.
The Eagles maintained possession for the majority of the contest as they outshot the Vikings 35-4 including a 22-1 margin in the first half. Beall lead all players with eight shots with four being on target.
Emory will look to continue its current two-game winning streak this Sunday afternoon as the Eagles host 23rd-ranked Centre College at the Woodruff PE Center. The game is set to begin at 1:00 pm.