DES MOINES, Iowa—Two goals in the final four minutes of play gave the South Dakota Coyotes a 2-1 victory over the Drake Bulldogs Tuesday evening at Cownie Soccer Complex.
The game was scoreless for the initial 85 minutes before a barrage of goals resulted in the Coyotes' first road win of the season.
A crazy shot by Drake midfielder Libby Helverson bounced off a Coyote defender, off Coyote goalkeeper
Bella Alessio's glove, onto the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net to put the Bulldogs (2-5-1) onto the scoreboard first.
It marked the fourth-straight game a Coyote foe had scored in the final five minutes of regulation or later.
South Dakota (2-5-0) responded with its own goal a minute later. Sophomore
Jordan Centineo netted a beauty from outside the 18-yard box that dropped into the net just out of the keeper's reach. The goal is the third of Centineo's career and of the season.
A foul inside of Drake's box in the 88th minute resulted in a penalty kick opportunity for the Coyotes. Junior
Alexis Mitchell put it in to the bottom right corner of the goal, scoring her first goal of the season.
Drake outshot South Dakota 20-8, even edging out the Coyotes 12-3 on corner kicks Tuesday night.
Alessio notched four saves in the contest.
USD will play the second of a three game road-trip on Thursday against Wyoming (3-1-3) at 8 p.m. (Central) in Gillette, Wyoming. The Cowgirls have won two of their last three contests, with a 4-1 victory over Idaho State, who USD defeated 2-0 in the season opener on Aug. 23.
