CLEVELAND, Ohio – Behind a golden goal from Jenna Prathapa in overtime, the Cleveland State women's soccer team was able to stay unbeaten in Horizon League play Saturday evening, as the Vikings picked up a crucial 2-1 overtime victory against Northern Kentucky.
With the win, the Vikings improve to 9-4-1 overall this season and 5-0-1 in league play, and gain sole possession of second place in the #HLWSOC standings.
Cleveland State, who is off to its best Horizon League start in program history, is now 3-0-1 in overtime contests this season, including a 2-0-1 mark against league opponents.
Saturday's 2-1 overtime victory marked the Vikings' fourth straight win, while they remained perfect during the month of October.
After a scoreless first half, Northern Kentucky was able to get on the board first during the 64th minute, but just 15 minutes later the Vikings evened the match with a McKenna Vento goal. Vento's goal was her team-leading sixth of the season, and the 12th of her career putting her in a tie for fifth place in the CSU Career Record book.
Vento was able to find the back of the net off of a cross from Sarah Krause, who notched her fifth assist of the season.
The two teams were then evenly matched throughout the final 12 minutes of regulation, forcing the match into overtime.
After five minutes of overtime action, the Vikings were able to find the game-winner at 95:36, as Prathapa tallied her fourth goal of the season following a pair of passes from Krause and Dani Sowinski. Krause finished the match with six assists on the year, while Sowinski now has eight helpers this season, setting a single-season program record for the Vikings.
For her career, Sowinski now has 12 assists, putting her second in the CSU Career Record book.
The Vikings tallied 11 total shots on the contest, including five from Prathapa.
Stevie Holbrook picked up the win in goal, finishing with two saves against NKU.
Cleveland State will now look to extend its unbeaten streak on Wednesday (October 17), traveling to Detroit Mercy for a 7:00 p.m. contest.