Stephen F. Austin
McNeese State
Barker's Golden Goal Downs McNeese in OT
10/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SFA 2, McNeese 1 (OT)
Cowgirl Field • Lake Charles, La.
Records: SFA (5-6-1, 4-0-1 SLC); McNeese (4-7-0, 1-4-0 SLC)
Up Next: at Central Arkansas (6-7-0, 3-2-0 SLC) • Friday, Oct. 9 • 7:00 p.m.
SFA 2, MCN 1 (OT) 
Photo Gallery
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Sophomore forward Hanna Barker played the role of hero for the Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at Cowgirl Field, providing a golden goal just 5:12 into overtime to lift the Ladyjacks to a thrilling 2-1 victory over McNeese.
The first place Ladyjacks improve to 5-6-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the Southland Conference with the victory.
Barker's first goal of the 2015 season was one of the biggest of her young collegiate career. With the game level at 1-1 in the first overtime period, she received a pass from sophomore midfielder Madison Hall down the left center of the box and ripped a shot that dinged off the right post and rippled the side netting. The game-ending goal gave SFA the 2-1 win - its fourth straight victory in SLC play.
Hall was credited with the assist after the clean distribution from the top of the 18. It represents her first career assist as a Ladyjack.
Though SFA controlled much of the game, the Cowgirls were the ones who struck first. Michelle Petrarca scored off a corner kick in the 74th minute to put McNeese up 1-0.
Not backing down after conceding the header, the Ladyjacks found an equalizer via a penalty kick just over five minutes later. Hall cranked out a shot that found the hand of a McNeese player in the box in the 80th minute, and senior captain Rachel Owens stepped up and drilled the shot home to make it a 1-1 game.
After scoring the game-winner against Lamar on Friday night, Owens has scored in back-to-back contests and three times overall this season.
Barker handled the rest for her team in extra time.
SFA outshot McNeese 23-8 on the afternoon with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Ladyjacks also created more opportunities off corners with an 8-3 cushion.
The SFA defensive unit was solid once again, not yielding a single shot attempt in the first half. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lillie Ehlert (5-5-1) recorded two saves and was credited with the winning decision.
The Ladyjacks have now beaten the Cowgirls in 10 consecutive games over the past nine years and extend their unbeaten streak in conference to 27 straight matches dating back to the 2013 season.
SFA will play just one game next week, heading to Conway, Arkansas for a Friday night showdown with Central Arkansas. The game is set to start at 7:00 p.m.
-SFA-
