LYNCHBURG, Va. — Backed into a corner, the Bearkats kept punching and landed a left and a right to send Delaware to the canvas in the opening round of the Conference USA Championship at Osborne Stadium on Sunday.
Pam Murray sent the third-seeded Bearkats (9-5-2) to the semifinals when she punched her penalty kick above the head of Blue Hens keeper Sophia Hall to lift Sam Houston to a 6-5 victory in a shootout. Hall had just missed her attempt that sailed way over the top of the goal to setup Murray's game winner.
No. 6 Delaware had been in control for most of the match, building a 1-0 lead thanks to a stingy defense. The Kats managed just two shots on goal in the first half.
Sam Houston was relentless as it has been all season and stayed on its feet. The resilience finally paid off in the 78
th minute when
Taylor Vance just missed a shot from the middle of the field at the top of the box that Hall was able to poke away at the top of the cross bar.
That resulted in a corner kick which
Kaitlyn Vance placed perfectly in the box where it hit off a defender right to
Kelsey Villatoro. The junior transfer from Gardner-Webb quickly got control and soared a shot over Hall's head with her left foot to tie it.
Bearkat keeper
Katie Bahn was once again outstanding in the net, holding the Blue Hens scoreless the rest of regulation after the first half score. Bahn, who was third team All-CUSA, finished with seven saves and two in the shootout, and made her penalty kick attempt to help her own cause in goal.
Sam Houston will play a rematch with Liberty in the semifinals on Tuesday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+. The second-seeded Flames defeated the Kats 2-0 at home in the regular season finale.
