CHICAGO  – Eliudth Gonzalez scored the golden goal in overtime to give the New Mexico State women's soccer team a 2-1 win over Western Athletic Conference foe Chicago State in Chicago on Sunday afternoon.
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"We got the win, enough said," head coach
Rob Baarts said. "It wasn't pretty but sometimes you have to on the road and battle for a win. That's a team that played on emotion, they attacked us hard, got the goal and once they got the goal it was a problem. Once they started getting tired, it was only a matter of time and we got the win."
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The first half passed uneventfully with neither side able to break through while the Cougars (0-16-0, 0-5-0 WAC) ability to pack the box gave the Aggies (3-11-2, 2-4-0) fits. Then, after the half, Chicago State got on the board in the 46
th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
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As the clock ran down in the second half,
Hannah Leitner beat the outside back down the wing and found
Shea O'Connor in the box who finished her fourth goal of the season to tie the game at one in the 86
th minute and force overtime. This gave Leitner her first-career assist.
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The overtime period was all Aggies. Gonzalez posted a shot on goal in the 92
nd minute before O'Connor did the same in the 95
th minute. However, Judith Sorribes was there to make the save both times.
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Then Leitner again used her speed to get around the outside back and again fed the ball into the box. This time, the ball bounced around until it found Gonzalez who finished the golden goal for a 2-1 NM State victory. It was Gonzalez's second goal of the season and gave Leitner her second assist of the match.
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New Mexico State recorded 15 shots to 14 for the Cougars with each team posting eight shots on goal.
Dmitri Fong finished the match with seven saves.
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The Aggies return to the pitch for Senior Day when they take on Kansas City on Thursday, Oct. 24, at 3 p.m. (MT) for the final home match of the season. Join us as we celebrate our senior class.
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For complete coverage of New Mexico State women's soccer, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateWSOC), Instagram (@NMStateWSOC) and like us on Facebook (NM State Women's Soccer).
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