A thrilling double overtime goal by Brooke Sheppard off a beautiful header by Carleigh Morba gave the American University women's soccer team a 1-0 victory Friday afternoon against Radford at Reeves Field. 

On the game-winning play in the 102nd minute, Michelle Montilio initial setup the sequence as she fed a pass to Jasmine Mohandesi down the sideline in the offensive end. Mohandesi then crossed a pass right to the head of Morba, who touched it over to Sheppard in front of the net. The senior tri-captain Sheppard did the rest, sliding a shot past Radford goalkeeper Che' Brown for the game-winner. For Sheppard, it was the third game-winning score of her career.

Prior to the game-winning conversion, American (1-8) had the majority of the scoring chances in the match. In the 12th minute, Kendra Jones created an opportunity as she drove a low cross into the middle. But with two Eagles pressuring, Brown quickly collapsed on the ball and defused the attack. Then in the 23rd minute, a Friederike Engel cross bounced dangerously into the box but was snatched away by Brown.

After ten minutes of mixed possession, Engel found herself with a golden opportunity as the ball rolled to her feet after a broken American corner. Her shot looked to be on a path for the far side of goal but was deflected out of bounds. Each team had a few chances in the closing minutes, but the match remained scoreless going into halftime.

Perhaps the best chance of the second half came 13 minutes in when an American corner found its mark in the box. After a scramble in front of the net, a foul was called on AU, which ended the threat. After few late scoring opportunities for either squad, the match headed to sudden-death overtime.

In the first 10 minute overtime period, Jones connected on a Samantha Trotta cross but she sent the shot just high and wide. Radford (4-3) also manifested a corner kick in the extra frame, but neither team was able to find the game-winner after the first session. It was not until the 1:02 into the second overtime that Morba's flick set up Sheppard's game-winner.

In the match, American held a 19-11 advantage in both shots, including a 6-5 margin in shots on frame. The Eagles five corner kicks compared to only two for Radford.

Arianna Efstathiou played all 101:02 minutes in goal for AU, registering five saves en route to her ninth career shutout.

"Radford is a good team, they are much improved," Head Coach Dave Bucciero remarked. "We defended set pieces very well and I thought, particularly in the first half, we moved the ball very well. We were consistent with our play and I thought we were able to take the game to Radford, which is something that we've struggled with throughout the season.  For us, this is a huge lift, and hopefully we can build off it on Sunday."

Next up for the Eagles is a showdown against UMBC this Sunday, September 19. Kickoff at Reeves Field is slated for 1:00 p.m. The match can be watched live on Eagles Vision TV, part of AUeagles.com.

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