The Master's University women's soccer team had waited months to play its season opener. So the 15 minutes during which the Mustangs trailed by two goals Saturday in Surprise, Arizona, must have felt relatively insignificant. TMU certainly didn't panic.
"We were telling each other to stick to our system and what we have been practicing," said junior Kyndel Borman. "We knew we weren't out of the game."
Indeed.
Borman scored shortly before intermission to cut the deficit in half, and Elizabeth Radmilovich recorded the equalizer in the 61st minute to lift TMU to a 2-2 tie with host OUAZ on Spirit Field.
The Mustangs controlled both overtime periods, posting five shots and allowing none, but they didn't score again in a rare non-conference meeting with OUAZ, a fellow Golden State Athletic Conference member. TMU outshot the Spirit 20-6 overall.
TMU coach Curtis Lewis said he was proud of his team's resolve in erasing the early deficit — a hole created when the Spirit scored twice within the span of a minute around the 21-minute mark.
"I think 2-2 was a fair result," Lewis said. "They had some pretty legitimate opportunities that missed, and we had some opportunities that we missed."
An injury on the Mustangs' roster meant sophomore Anay Garcia had to start at goalie, her first appearance at the position since she was in middle school. Lewis felt Garcia's instincts as a defender — she appeared in 21 games a freshman in 2019 — and her aggressive style of play prepared her for the role.
"She's fearless," Lewis said.
Garcia was credited with two saves Saturday, including one in the final minutes of regulation to help force overtime. "She made some amazing saves that kept us in the game," Borman said.
Borman's goal in the 36th minute came when she made a slashing run along OUAZ's back line. Senior Kayla Monick threaded a pass between Spirit defenders, and Borman ran onto it, took a touch around the keeper, and slotted it into the net.
The goal was Borman's third in the last two meetings between TMU and OUAZ. She scored the first two goals in a 3-2 win over the Spirit in 2019's regular-season finale. She finished the year with a team-leading 13 goals on the way to NAIA All-American honors.
Borman said Saturday there was at least one benefit to TMU not playing in the fall due to the pandemic. It allowed the team's large incoming class to acclimate to the Mustangs' system and team culture.
TMU's roster featured 17 new players Saturday, but it was a pair of familiar faces who combined on the day's final goal.
In the 61st minute, Payton Williams launched a free kick that carried in the air roughly 40 yards, finding Radmilovich in the penalty area for a goal from close range.
"It was a great ball," Lewis said of Williams' pass.
Radmilovich's goal marked the first time since Sept. 2, 2019, that the Mustangs climbed out of a 2-0 hole to force overtime. That time, however, TMU watched as Marian University scored in the 102nd minute to win it.
This time, TMU stayed even.
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