Women's soccer drops heartbreaker in closing seconds

DECORAH, Iowa - Elli Bunz scored the golden goal with 35 seconds left in the second overtime and Luther escaped with a 2-1 win over the Simpson women's soccer team on Saturday night.

Bunz scored on an assist from Erin Wilson for the Norse (11-1, 2-1 Iowa Conference), who trailed for a majority of the contest.

"We had a chance for three points, then in overtime we had a chance for one," head coach Ryan Sander said. "Walking away with nothing hurts when we play in such a competitive conference. I'll give it to our girls though, they played their hearts out and deserved at least a point."

Mackenzie Stump put the Storm (2-10-1, 0-2-1) on the board in the seventh minute, knocking in her fourth goal in the last six games.

"It was great to get out early and score a goal," Sander said.

The defense held Luther for the next 74 minutes before Madison Speer tied it up in the 81st minute with her first goal of the season.

Luther took a whopping 41 shots to Simpson's four, including 19 shots on goal. Kristin Riley made a career-high 15 saves, just two shy of tying a school record.

"Our back line played well today and Kristin was huge for us," Sander said.

Simpson gets a break in the conference schedule when they go to St. Catherine on Wednesday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.