The Ashland University women’s soccer team used two late rallies to defeat Lake Erie College and Walsh University this weekend.

With the weekend sweep the Eagles improved to 11-2 overall and 7-2 in GLIAC play. 

“Anytime we go down in a game, we can’t let ourselves get down,” said sophomore striker Morgan Bittengle. “We just have to keep motivating ourselves, and we still had a lot of time left in the game and we knew we were going to win.”

AU traveled to Walsh on Friday Oct. 16th, looking to snap a two game losing skid. 

The Eagles jumped on the scoreboard first, when Kelsey McKernan’s cross off of a corner kick found Bittengle. 

The sophomore from Pickerington, Ohio deposited in the net. Bittengle’s seventh goal of the season gave AU a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.

Neither team would find the scoreboard for the next 68 minutes, when finally the Cavaliers broke the drought with a Jessie Gearhart goal to tie the match at one in the 79th minute. 

The match was level after 90 minutes, so AU would need an extra session to pull out the victory. 

Just three minutes into overtime, freshman forward Deijah Swihart found the back of the net. Swihart’s four goal of the 2015 campaign allowed AU to walk away 2-1 victors. 

AU looked to keep the momentum going against Lake Erie on Sunday Oct. 18th. 

Bittengle opened the scoring in the 11th minute for the second consecutive game, making a nice run into the box and turning Swihart’s feed into a goal. AU led 1-0. 

“It really helps when everyone moves the ball around,” said Bittengle. “It really opens up space for the offense and that space is what helped me.” 

Lake Erie would tie the match at one in the 25th minute and that is where the two teams were at the halftime break.

In the 55th minute the Eagles appeared to take control, as Carson Janssen’s second goal of the season gave AU a 2-1 lead. 

But disaster struck just moments later when an AU own goal allowed the Storm to pull even once again at 2.

Lake Erie took their first lead of the match off a penalty kick in the 73rd minute. The Storm were 27 shutout minutes away from their third victory of 2015. 

AU responded quickly, as in the 78th minute, freshman Leanne Prandi headed in a Bittengle cross for the game-tying goal. The defender’s first career goal tied the match at 3. 

Bittengle sealed the deal in the 79th minute, slamming home her 3rd goal of the weekend to put AU in front for good 4-3. 

With the win over Lake Erie, the Eagles clinched a spot in the upcoming GLIAC tournament. 

AU will face take on Findlay and Malone next weekend before finishing the regular season at Ohio Dominican on October 30th. 

“It’s a mental game now,” said Bittengle. “We are almost to the end of the season, all of us are tired, all of us are sore, but we really want to keep up the winning streak. We just have to keep with the mental game.”