St. Louis, MO - The No. 3 seeded Stephens College women's soccer team made program history Friday afternoon, upsetting No. 2 seed Harris-Stowe State University 2-1 in overtime during the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Semifinals. With the victory, the Stars advance to the AMC Championship game for the first time in program history.
The first half remained scoreless as both teams worked to establish offensive opportunities. Harris-Stowe held a 5-3 advantage in shots through the opening 45 minutes, but the Stephens defense held strong to keep the Hornets off the scoreboard heading into halftime.
The scoreless game was broken in the 63rd minute when freshman Ada Erondu found the back of the net off an assist from Amaura Austell. The goal marked Erondu's fifth of the season and gave Stephens a 1-0 advantage.
Harris-Stowe responded in the 79th minute as Laura Bordiga scored the equalizer, leveling the score at 1-1. Neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal in the remaining minutes of regulation, sending the semifinal matchup into overtime.
With a trip to the conference championship on the line, Stephens delivered the deciding goal in the 97th minute. Eastin Colyer found the back of the net at the 96:33 mark off Austell's second assist of the afternoon, securing the 2-1 overtime upset. The game-winning goal marked Colyer's ninth of the season.
Stephens finished the match with 11 shots, including six on goal, while Harris-Stowe recorded 13 shots with four on target. Colyer and Kassi Loethen led the Stars with three shots apiece, while Austell contributed two assists. Goalkeeper Petra Brncová played the entire match, recording three saves to help secure the victory.
The win improves Stephens to 11-5-3 overall and continues a historic season for the program. After already establishing a new program record for wins in a single season, the Stars added another milestone with their semifinal upset over the higher-seeded Hornets, earning the program's first-ever appearance in the AMC Tournament Championship game.
Stephens will look to continue its historic postseason run as the Stars compete for their first AMC Tournament title.
