Saturday's wild conclusion – a seven-minute stretch that featured three goals and enough drama to consume even the most uninterested fan at Reese Field – might best be described by defender
Laura English, one of 11 seniors who'd never before beaten Westmont in their TMU careers.
"When we tied it up, I was like, 'This is crazy. I don't even know,'" English said. "Everyone on our team wanted this so bad, and when Kyndel (Borman) put that in the back of the net in overtime, I think all of us just stopped. We were in awe. Then it hit us and the ref blew the whistle and we were like, 'We just won. We just beat Westmont.'"
Two minutes after a Westmont goal threatened to ruin TMU's afternoon,
Suzanne Mabie answered with an equalizer in the 87th minute. And Borman scored a golden goal in the second minute of overtime to lift the Mustangs to a 3-2 win over No. 6 Westmont.
It was TMU's first win over the Warriors since 2014, its first at home since 2010.
It also kept Master's (8-3-3, 3-1 GSAC) in a tie for third place in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings with four matches remaining.
None of it might have happened had keeper
Lacey Lehman not saved a Westmont penalty kick in the 50th minute. The heroic denial came minutes after Mabie tied the game for the first time, heading a
Sarah Stead cross into the net to officially announce the Mustangs' reentry into the game: Master's would not be rolled over like so many of Westmont's opponents this season.
Westmont (10-2-1, 4-1) beat then-No. 1 William Carey and then-No. 12 Vanguard by identical 3-0 scores earlier in the year.
When Master's lost to Vanguard in its GSAC opener on Oct. 3, it meant the Mustangs were running out of opportunities to secure a signature win before the end of the season, a development that might have left TMU in need of a GSAC tournament title to earn a berth to NAIA nationals.
But the Mustangs made the most of their second chance Saturday, overcoming a Savannah Scott penalty-kick goal in the 14th minute after a foul call near the top of the box.
Mabie's third goal of the season created the day's first tie. But Katie Stella pushed Westmont back ahead in the 85th minute when she ran onto a Madison Griggs pass and scored.
Was it deflating?
"I think when it went in the back of the net, yes," English said. "Then one second later, we were all like, 'Let's go.' I think we still felt the momentum that we could do it."
But the Mustangs were running out of opportunities two minutes later when
Kayla Peterson launched a free kick deep into the Warrior penalty area. Mustang
Elizabeth Radmilovich got her head on it and the ball found its way to Mabie's foot, the senior punching it in.
It was Radmilovich who came through again with an assist in overtime.
The freshman tracked down a loose ball in the penalty area and flicked a no-look pass to Borman, who came open near the 6-yard box. Borman controlled it and scored.
"When that goal went in, it was pure joy," Borman said. "Everyone came screaming onto the field. Everyone was stoked that we won. For a second, we were scared that I was offside, but I saw the defender in the corner of my eye and knew I was onside. So it was just pure excitement."
Life doesn't necessarily get easier for the Mustangs from here. They will travel to Irvine to face Hope International on Wednesday at OC Great Park. Hope, despite a 2-3 GSAC record, was an NAIA national tournament qualifier a year ago.
Saturday's signature win could go a long way in assuring the Mustangs will play on that stage this year.
"I'm so proud of the girls and their grit and fight today," said coach
Curtis Lewis. "We knew it would take a complete game to challenge Westmont, and we rose to the occasion."
