Women's soccer finishes non-conference play with overtime road win at Kentucky
Central Michigan forward Lauren Debeau dribbles past a Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis defender Sept. 8 at the CMU Sports Complex.
Lauren DeBeau found the net with two seconds to play against Kentucky in Lexington.
The Central Michigan freshman forward bent in a corner kick to knock off the Power Five foe Wildcats, 2-1, more importantly, it kept CMU (3-0-2) undefeated through its nonconference slate.
It was also the third straight 2-1 victory for the Chippewas following their 1-1 double overtime draw against Northwestern on Aug. 29.
First year coach Jeremy Groves made his return to Kentucky after serving as an assistant coach last season and played for the Wildcats, winning two Mid-American Conference championships.
"This win is humongous for us," Groves said. "It's humongous for our confidence and our recruiting. We told the girls all week that this is going to put us on the map."
The game was scoreless for the entirety of the first half before Kentucky broke the 0-0 tie with a goal in the 59th minute.
Cami Taylor scored her first career goal for the Chippewas in the 66th minute and the match went to extra time; CMU is 1-0-2 in games that move to overtime.
The two teams battled throughout overtime, with the period lasting for 9:58 of its scheduled 10 minutes. The Chippewas were able to get a look at a corner kick after a breakaway opportunity was knocked away by a Wildcat defender.
"As the ball went out, there was about 20 seconds left on the clock," Groves said. "We were screaming for someone to go over and take the corner. DeBeau pretty much bent it in from the corner flag, and it went into the goal."
DeBeau, a freshman forward from Shelby Township, Michigan, made the most of the opportunity. Her corner kick bent around the post and into the net, sending the Chippewas home victorious.
There were just two seconds remaining in overtime.
Goalkeeper Zoie Reed made three saves in goal for the Chippewas.
The Chippewas head into MAC play without a loss. They open the conference season at 5 p.m. on Sept. 27 against Ball State in Muncie, Indiana.
