BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- The Roadrunner women's soccer team fought for 102 minutes against the 2014 Western Athletic Conference regular season Champions, Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos. A valiant come-from-behind performance by CSU Bakersfield ended in a thrilling, 3-2, double overtime loss to UMKC Friday night at the Main Soccer Field.

“I thought we showed what we were about tonight in large periods,” said Gary Curneen, Head Coach of the 'Runners. “Our work rate was phenomenal. I thought our possession was great, I thought we created chances, and I thought we did enough to win the game.”

The 'Roos opened the match with a bang as UMKC took a 1-0 lead in the third minute. Off of a 'Roos corner kick, Kara Priest found the ball in a scrum and headed it home for the one-goal advantage. Priest earned her third goal of the season on the play.

Showing their resilience, the Roadrunners answered back less than five minutes later with a goal of their own. Madi Giammona took a corner kick for CSUB and found the head of fellow freshman Haley Vicente at the 8:11 mark. The assist was Giammona's second of the year while Vicente scored her first collegiate goal.

CSUB continued rolling with momentum as the 'Runners scored again in the 16th minute to go ahead 2-1. Bakersfield earned a dangerous free kick from 25 yards out near the center of the goal. Sophomore Maja Green buried her fourth goal of the year on the direct kick as CSUB earned a one-goal advantage after being down early.

The 'Runners continued to dominate possession through the middle of the second half with crisp passes, but they were unable to put an insurance goal on the board. UMKC began to take control of the match in the final twenty minutes and created several close chances.

With 21 minutes to go in the second half, the 'Roos looked as if they would bring the match back to a 2-2 draw when they earned a penalty kick. Emily Herndon stepped to the penalty spot for UMKC, but Tori Ornela, Bakersfield's redshirt senior keeper, guessed correctly and batted the ball away with a diving save.

In the 83rd minute, a pass from Nikki Lynch found Kelsey Mothershead 5 yards from the end line in the box. Mothershead buried the equalizer with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. The 'Roos continued to pressure through the 90th minute, but the 'Runner defense held firm to send the match to overtime.

Despite struggling at the end of regulation, the 'Runners came out of the break with renewed vigor, controlling the ball for a majority of the 10-minute period. CSUB pressured often, but the UMKC defense, which allowed a mere 0.75 goals per contest coming into the match, remained strong. As the PA announcer counted down the final 10 seconds, Ornela met a cleared ball 5 yards on the UMKC side of midfield and fired toward the goal. Her strike flew true and forced the 'Roos keeper, Anna Lillig, to make a tough save in a dramatic conclusion to the first overtime period.

One minute and 56 seconds into double overtime, UMKC earned the corner kick which proved to be deadly. Reighan Childers sent the cross in from the corner and found the head of Lexie Howard who scored her sixth goal of the season and earned three points for the 'Roos.

CSU Bakersfield (4-7-2, 2-1-1 WAC) suffered its first loss in conference play on Friday night, but Coach Curneen was not disappointed with the performance of his young squad: “That sucker punch at the end is tough to take, but, we'll be alright. There's no time to feel sorry for yourself. There's little point to feel sorry as this is a top team that we played today.”

With the loss on Friday, CSUB is now in a three-way tie for third place in the WAC standings. With seven points on the year, the 'Runners are within just three points of WAC-leading Utah Valley.

The 'Runners will host Chicago State Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. here at the Main Soccer Field. Come on out to campus and support the lady Roadrunners in the morning before returning for the men's soccer match against defending WAC Champion UNLV at 6 p.m.

~GoRunners.com~