BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell women's soccer won in nail-biting fashion Wednesday night, defeating the Radford Highlanders 2-1 at the Eakes Athletics Complex off a rocket from Amber Liston in the 90th minute.
The win was Campbell's first of the season, and the second time the team scored two goals.
The first chance of the game came in the 21st minute as Radford's Eileen Albers fired in a low shot, but Campbell goalkeeper Sierra Vance was up to the task, blocking the shot with her leg.
The first goal of the game came shortly after, as Liston once again assisted Alyssa Tucker in the 23rd minute to give the Camels the 1-0 lead. This is the second time the duo has connected in the first three games of the season.
The teams continued to battle, with no team finding a clear advantage to start the second half.
The Highlanders found their chance in the 81st minute, as the Camels were called for a handball in the box. Alexeis Kirnos fired the ball into the top-right corner of the goal to give Radford the equalizer.
Campbell was given one more chance, as they were awarded a free kick just across midfield with one minute to go. Defender Riley Terrill served the ball into the box, where it bounced off a Radford defender before it rolled to Liston. Liston attacked the shot from outside the box with her right foot, firing it into the bottom right corner past the goalkeeper.
The Fighting Camels now sit at 1-1-1 after three games, while Radford moves to 1-2-0.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Jeff Gross
On beating Radford early in the season:
"Radford is a very good team, so to beat them when we've been trying to find ourselves was excellent. It shows again how gritty they are, and they deserve that."
On how the team reacted after giving up the late penalty:
"We (the coaches) stay calm so they can stay calm. We just needed them to settle down for a moment. There was plenty of time on the clock, and I had a feeling they would respond, which they did. You just need to trust them to fight their way out of it, and if I do too much on the sideline, they don't realize how good they are to find the response themselves. It was awesome to watch."
On the play of Amber Liston:
"This year, in particular, she's really taken on the leadership role and embraced the team…What she did here tonight is, I think, just scratching the surface of what we're about to see from her the rest of the year."
Midfielder Amber Liston
On the connection she is forming with teammate Alyssa Tucker:
"I think it's just something special. She came in really motivated, and I think she's been adapting really well to the team and listening to what we have to say to her…I've been asking her to communicate more and be more confident, and she has been. I've had so much fun playing with her and I'm so excited to keep moving forward with her."
On the team's response to giving up the late penalty kick:
"It's not over until it's over. I think we all put our heads down for one quick second and then something switched, and we got on the same page and continued fighting."
On her game-winning goal:
"I didn't know if it was going in. But I knew when it was coming to me and I was going to hit it, I was going to hit it as hard as I could and as low as I could. I knew I was not going to hit it over. I knew it was going to be on target, and luckily it went in."
UP NEXT
The Camels play host to the ECU Pirates at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Eakes Athletics Complex. The game will be broadcast on FloSports.
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