FORT WAYNE (June 25) – The Cincinnati Ladyhawks rallied with 2 goals in the 87th and 90th minutes to send the game into extra time, where they scored two more goals to defeat the Fort Wayne Fever Women 4-2 at Hefner Field.

While the scoreboard showed zeros for both teams at halftime, both the Fever and Ladyhawks were aggressive in their attacks on goal. The Ladyhawks registered ten shots on goal, including three solid attempts by forward Heather Hathorn. The Fever also recorded ten shots on goal, six of which were saved by Ladyhawks goalkeeper Leah Miller. The Fever got their best opportunity of the half in the closing seconds when forward Melissa Zimmerman received the behind the Cincinnati defense and after two touches put a shot on goal that was deflected out of play by the Ladyhawks goalkeeper.

Both teams’ aggressiveness continued into the second half, and it was just a matter of time before someone found the back of the net. The Fever’s first goal came in the 58th minute, when Amanda Reese received a pass from Nicole Halls in the Cincinnati penalty box with her back to the goal; she turned and put the ball past the Ladyhawks Miller and inside the right post. The Fever added their second goal in the 83rd minute when a shot from Claire Ward bounced off the crossbar to a charging Amanda Reese who hammered home her second goal of the match.

Despite being down two goals, the Ladyhawks did not give up the fight. In the 87th minute, Ladyhawks forward Kristen Boujos received a pass from Robin Fulton and put the ball past Fever goalkeeper Wendy Jacobs. Minutes later, a pass from Andrea Cunningham across the mouth of the Fever goal found Heather Hathorn who evened the score with time running out.

The Ladyhawks’ last minute goals forced two ten-minute extra time periods. During the first extra time period, the Fever had a chance to go up early as Amanda Reese’s attempt for a hat-trick sailed over the cross bar. With two minutes left in the period, Andrea Cunningham was able to put the ball past the Fever’s Jacobs to put the Ladyhawks up by one goal going into the final extra time period.

The Ladyhawks notched the final goal of match two minutes into the final period when Lindsay Holley fought off three Fever defenders to put a shot past goalkeeper Jacobs. The Fever battled hard to the end, with a shot by Holly Gorgan sailing over the cross bar with four minutes remaining and Melissa Zimmerman being caught offsides in the final minute.

The teams travel to Cincinnati on Sunday for the second match of their home and away weekend. The match kicks off at 3 PM (ET) at the Lakota High School soccer field.

The official match report can be found here