No.11 Women's Soccer Gets Late Goal to Force Overtime, Defeats Wilmington in Third Match to Advance in NCAA Tournament

MANCHESTER, N.H. - After being down 1-0 at the 13:16 minute of the match and looking to see their season end, the No.11 nationally-ranked Thomas Jefferson University women's soccer team (16-2-1) got a last minute goal from Dedes to force overtime. The Rams went to get a rebound and bank the shot into the net to defeat Wilmington University of Delaware (12-3-6) 2-1 and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Friday afternoon action. 

WHAT HAPPENED 

• The third match between the Rams and Wildcats did not wait to get on the board as the first two contests, with Wilmington scoring on a shot that was nearly contested by the defense but still found the net and had Jefferson down 1-0 

• The Rams were more active in the shot department, attempting seven shots in the first half to the Wildcats two but still trailed 1-0 at the break 

• Jefferson was not able to find the net for most of the match and it looked like Wilmington would get the best of the Rams for the second time this season 

• With the final minute passing, Alexa Callahan passed it to Nikki Dedes, who adjusted herself and hit a shot that went to the top right corner where the goalie couldn't reach and gave the Rams the equalizer at the 89:09 mark, keeping their season alive. This would be the third contest that Jefferson and Wilmington would play all 90 minutes with an even score and the second that went into overtime 

• The first overtime went the full 10 minutes without a score, seeing the Rams outshoot Wilmington 6-3. Jefferson almost broke the tie as they had Mia Ferrara shot saved, a scramble at the net that saw a defender stop a shot going in, then Jamie Webb have her attempt going too high 

• The second overtime went in similar fashion and looked to have the game go into PK's, but the Rams had one more shot near the net. A corner kick saw Dedes hit a header that was just tipped by Arianna Myers. The ball hit the cross bar off the save and fell right back to Dedes' feet, allowing her second shot find the net and give Jefferson the 2-1 victory over Wilmington in the NCAA Tournament 

• Carly Hayman made six saves in the goal for Jefferson, helping them advance to the next round of the tournament 

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE 
Shots: Jefferson, 24-9 
Shots-on-Goal: Jefferson, 8-7 
Saves: Tie, 6-6 
Corners: Jefferson, 6-4 
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Nikki Dedes: 2 goals, 7 shots 
Alexa Callahan: 1 assist, 3 shots 
Mia Ferrara: 4 shots 
Gianna Garozzo: 3 shots 
Carly Hayman: 6 saves 

100 POINTS 
After making her second goal, Dedes earned four points on the day and pushed her to 101 points in her career. She becomes the 13th soccer player in Jefferson history to reach 100 points, being the fourth women's soccer player in the program to hit that milestone and the first since 2003. Dedes has registered 40 goals and 21 assists in her four years with the Rams. 

UP NEXT 
Jefferson advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for two straight seasons as they take on top-seed in the East Region and host institute Saint Anselm College on Sunday, November 23 at 3 p.m. The Rams rematch the Hawks as they competed against one another on September 14 at Wilmington, with Jefferson defeating Saint Anselm 2-0.