Gibson's Golden Goal Gives WSOC 1-0 Win Over NDSU

The Marquette University women's soccer team (4-3-0) blanked North Dakota State (0-6-1), 1-0, on Friday night to close out non-conference play.

Kate Gibson's golden goal in the 106^th minute was all the Golden Eagles needed to earn their third-consecutive win. It was her first career goal, and Elsi Twombly and Madison Burrier were credited with the assists.

"Elsi (Twombly) is a great ball handler and we had just talked about how the down the line ball is going to work every time," Gibson said. "Elsi took it and went with it and did everything right and I was just there to be a part of it."

Neither team could find the back of the net through the first 45 minutes of action. The Golden Eagles tallied five shots in the first half, two of which came from Katrina Wetherell. Mikki Easter also made one save on the Bison's only shot on goal prior to the break.

The stout defense continued following halftime, and both teams would remain gridlocked at zero through 90 minutes. The Golden Eagles outshot NDSU 14-4 in regulation and also had six opportunities from the corner. MU had two shots in overtime, but it wasn't until the second extra period that Frank Pelaez's squad was able to break through.

"One of the biggest things we have tried to do with this team is make them believe," head coach Frank Pelaez said. "Hopefully it's starting to impact them and they have done a good job of believing in the message and we were able to get something out of it today. Every match is going to be a fight."

Marquette finished with a season-high 19 shots, 13 of which came on goal. Easter finished with two saves, posting her third clean sheet of the season.

UP NEXT: Marquette will face Butler (7-1-0) at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Valley Fields in its first conference matchup of the season.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's soccer team through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWSOC) and Instagram (@MarquetteWSOC) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteWSOC).