Texas Tech Athletics
Iowa State
Red Raiders Win Thriller Over Iowa State
October 22, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - Freshman Jessica Fuston scored the first hat trick of her career as Texas Tech won a thrilling overtime game, 3-2, over Iowa State Friday night at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
Tech (11-5-1/4-3-1 Big 12) came out with great energy and Iowa State (6-10-2/1-7 Big 12) was on its heels in the opening minutes. Only seven minutes into the game, junior Taylor Lytle turned her player and slipped Fuston in behind the ISU backline for a breakaway. Fuston, who had an historic night for the Red Raiders, slotted the keeper to her shooter's left and Tech had the lead 1-0.
It was ISU who then applied the pressure and took the next several shots to get back a piece of the game. The game evened out in the middle third of the half but the Cyclones came strong again towards the end of the half and equalized on a blast from the edge of the D in the 37th minute. The two teams headed to halftime locked at 1-1.
The second half started as the first half did with Tech taking the game at Iowa State. The pressure paid off when sophomore Sarah Ellison got down the flank, beat her defender and served a low serve across the face of the goal. Fuston was in position again on the serve just inside her defender and headed it home to push Tech ahead, 2-1. In this game of momentum swings, ISU once again applied the pressure and tied the game just 11 minutes later on a scramble where the ball was served twice across the goal before the Cyclones headed it home to deadlock the game for the third time tonight.
The game ended regulation at 2-2 and it was onto Tech's third overtime of the year. Tech was 0-1-1 in overtime going into tonight's game.
"I simply told the girls that we had absolutely no choice but to win this game," said head coach Tom Stone. "We had to focus on the little things to keep Iowa State out of our goal and keep the ball in their end so we would have a chance to win this thing. You can't lose focus in overtime and we held up well in that department."
At the 96:24 mark of the game, it was a short goal kick by ISU that started the sequence that led to the winning goal. The goal kick was won by Ellison and Tech broke out in pursuit of the second ball. Senior Leanne Mihelich got on the end of the loose ball and cut the ball back against her player and the ball fell to an on running Ellison who pushed the ball past her defender and shot the ball into a defender. The ball bounced straight back to Ellison who then past it to Mihelich who toe-poked the ball on goal with some pace. The bullet shot rebounded off the Iowa State goal keeper and fell again to Mihelich who slipped the ball over to Fuston who capped her fabulous outing with the game winner in overtime for the Red Raiders' 11th win of the season.
"Getting a hat trick at this stage of the Big 12 season is really an accomplishment for any freshman," Stone stated. "This is when you get everyone's best shot and Jess is rising to the occasion. I am very excited for our girls to see them pull out such a clutch win when we could not afford a loss at all. It was a much needed win for us and we showed some real character to pull this out in overtime."
The Cyclones outshot the Red Raiders 16-11 and had six corner kicks to Tech's two.
Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Wikelius picked up her fifth win of the year as she compiled four saves.
"This was a totally different ISU team from last year," said Stone. "Their freshmen are really good and Wendy (Dillinger) has them competing at a level that I have not seen from them in the last four years. Their record does not do justice to this team. Watching them on video was a bit scary. I mean they have played everyone in the Big 12 tight. Hats off to Coach Dillinger and her staff, they will be a handful in the years to come."
Tech concludes the home portion of its schedule on Sun., Oct. 24, as it hosts Missouri at 7 p.m. at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
