Fontbonne beats Webster, earns three-way tie for first

The Fontbonne University women's soccer team stunned Webster University last night defeating the Gorloks 1-0 in overtime. The victory propelled the Griffins to 9-8 overall and 6-1 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC).

Fontbonne is now in a three-way tie for first place in the SLIAC and could earn a share of the conference championship with a win Saturday. The Griffins have never earned a conference championship in women's soccer in the SLIAC.

Last night, Fontbonne withstood early pressure from the Gorloks. Griffin senior goalkeeper Kaniz Abbas made two early brilliant saves to keep Fontbonne in the game. Webster carried the play in the first half outshooting Fontbonne 9-3 but couldn't push a ball past Abbas.

In the second half, Fontbonne created a great chance minutes into the half, but the Webster goalkeeper made an outstanding save to keep the game scoreless. Both teams exchanged chances for the remainder of the half but both defenses were up to the challenge. 

Three minutes into the first overtime, Fontbonne earned a corner kick that resulted in Erica Kaiping's game-winning goal. For Erica, it was her team-leading ninth goal of the season. Freshman Paige Pfankuch earned her third assist of the season on Kaiping's goal.

Abbas made seven saves in goal, earning her fifth shutout of the season. Fontbonne has now allowed just one goal in their last 651 minutes of soccer.

Fontbonne will attempt to capture a share of their first SLIAC Championship on Saturday when they host MacMurray College at 3 pm.