GREENWOOD – With 10 seconds on the clock and no time to waste,
Leah Hayes Coen stepped up and shined bright underneath the
Van Taylor Stadium lights on Wednesday night.
Hayes Coen nailed a game-winning free-kick to cap a two-goal comeback and sent the home crowd into a fever pitch as Lander rallied to win 3-2 over Georgia Southwestern.
Sophia Trio was fouled outside the penalty box in the waning seconds of the match, which necessitated the free-kick opportunity. Hayes Coen soon delivered a perfect strike to the top-left corner of the net – her first career goal.
Just two minutes before,
Paige Bailey had an improbable goal of her own, draped by the Hurricanes' keeper in the 88th minute. Trio crossed it to Bailey, and she got enough of her body on the ball to push it across for her team-leading fifth goal this season to tie the game.
Peyton Bibbee started the comeback in the 76th minute when Hayes Coen sent a free-kick close to the net that was headed off the crossbar.
Darcy Ahern had the first chance off the rebound, but her header was stopped by a GSW defender.
Bibbee was in the right spot and got her left foot on the fortuitous bounce to put the Bearcats' wheels in motion – though frankly they already were.
Despite the 2-0 deficit, Lander was in control throughout. The Hurricanes registered only four shots all night, and each of their goals were fairly unconventional.
The Bearcats, on the other hand, had 23 shots and 11 of them were on target. Lander also produced seven corner-kicks to GSW's zero.
On top of the exciting win, Lander pushed its record to 9-2-2, 6-1-1 PBC, and those 19 conference points have them occupying the second spot at present.
The Blue and Gold will hit the road for Middle Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 25 and the penultimate game of the regular season. Kickoff at Nesmith Field in Cochran is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
