Senior
Darian Murdock (Herriman, Utah/Herriman HS) netted her 18
th goal of the season just 4:13 into the first overtime period to lift Dixie State to thrilling 2-1 result over Holy Names Tuesday night at Ramirez Field on the Fresno Pacific campus. The victory, DSU's sixth-straight overall, moved the Trailblazers to 12-3-0 overall and into first place in the Pacific West Conference table at 8-2-0 (24 pts). The 12 victories on the year are also the most in the four-plus year tenure of DSU Head Coach
Kacey Bingham.
The Trailblazers struck first in the 15
th-minute when freshman
Tori Page (Centerville, Utah/Viewmont HS) scored her seventh goal of the year on a
Brooklyn Vogelsberg (American Fork, Utah/American Fork HS) feed to give DSU a quick 1-0 lead. HNU netted the equalizer midway through the 57
th-minute on a Shelby Johnson floater that snuck into the right side of the frame just under the crossbar.
Then in overtime, junior defender
Nichole Mertz (Springville, Utah/Springville HS) sent in one of her patented somersault flip throws from the left wing to the center of the HNU box, where Murdock finished with a header in front of the Hawks' net to end the game.Murdock's game-winner marked the sixth-straight match the senior has scored at least one goal. Her goal also moved Murdock atop DSU's single-season points list (40 pts) and padded her already existing school records for single-season goals (18), season game-winning goals (8) and career game-winning goals (16).
"We know we didn't play well tonight and our players were disappointed with their performance," said DSU Head Coach
Kacey Bingham. "A good team finds a way to win and I was proud that we found a way to win. This was our 12th win this year and it is significant to the team and me."
Dixie State outshot Holy Names (0-12-1/0-7-1 PacWest) by a 25-7 count, including an 11-4 edge on goal. Sophomore keeper
Felicity Tarr (Tucson, Ariz./Mountain View Marana HS) finished with three saves to vault into sole possession of second place on DSU's single-season wins list (11-3-0).
Dixie State will remain in Fresno to square off with Fresno Pacific this Thursday at 5 p.m. (PT).
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