MARIETTA, Ga. – The Lindsey Wilson women's soccer team opened their 2020 season with a 2-1 overtime victory on the road over Life (Ga.) Sunday afternoon.

Eager to get their season underway after having to wait an additional two weeks, the Blue Raiders came out into the first half excited, ready to find the first goal of the season. Yudaya Nakayenze was a menace in the Life defense recording five shots, two of which were on target. The offense was so eager to create but forgot they must stay onside to do so, having six attacking moves called off by the offside rule, three of which came in the last minute of the half. Lindsey Wilson ended the game with 19 offside calls against them, the most in a single match.

While the Life defense was busy trying to contain the boisterous Lindsey Wilson offense, it was the Life goalkeeper, Emily Hounsell who was the busiest in the first half, coming up big on four occasions to keep the score level. The teams would enter halftime in a 0-0 deadlock.

As the second half began, so did the scoring, as it only took about four minutes for Life to break the stalemate. Leah McDaid performed a moment of madness when she collected a loose ball in the midfield and decided to have a go at goal. Her chipped shot from midfield caught the Lindsey Wilson goalkeeper, Eveljn Frigotto by surprise and turned around to find the ball falling into the net.

The hunt for the equalizer was on for the Blue Raiders. Over the course of the next ten minutes after the Life goal, Nakayenze would see her shots go every which way, but into the goal. Finally, in the 71st minute, persistence paid off for the Ugandan striker after she received a pass in the middle of the box from Claudia Santillan Escobar and was able to scoop it up and over the diving arms of Hounsell for the equalizer.

Lindsey Wilson continued to push for a winner in the final moments of the second half, but they could not pull it off. The game had to be decided with overtime.

Both teams struggled to find any kind of breakthrough in both overtime periods, trading fouls and turnovers in the midfield, until the dying minutes of the second overtime period when Alicia Thoresen hit a shot at the stumbling Hounsell. The Life goalkeeper could only parry the ball away, but in doing so found it fall to the feet of Escobar who knocked the loose ball into the net for the 2-1 win.

Lindsey Wilson finished the game with 17 shots, nine of which were on goal and two assists. Escobar recorded a career first goal and assist for the Blue Raiders and Nakayenze collected her first career goal in the blue and white. Life ended the game with six shots, two of which were on goal and 17 fouls.

The Blue Raiders will be back in action with their home opener at Walter S. Reuling Stadium as they host the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on Feb. 23 at 3 p.m. CT.