KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Western Michigan's
Diana Dedvukaj slotted home a penalty kick after being fouled in the box with 1:57 remaining as the Broncos defeated Wright State, 1-0, in double-overtime at the WMU Soccer Complex on Monday afternoon.
Dedvukaj was played through by a Western Michigan (3-0) midfielder and was tripped up by a Raider defender just a few yards into the box. The senior midfielder calmly put the ball into the top-right side of the net for her second goal of the season, and second game-winner of the season.
The Broncos outshot the Raiders 21-5 on the day, landing nine shots on goal. Wright State's defense proved frustrating for WMU at times but the plan was to keep pushing.
“When it gets frustrating like that you just keep pushing the tempo,” said head coach
Nate Norman. “You pick up the pace, throw balls in quicker, sprint up the field faster. But I give a lot of credit to Wright State, they were a well organized team and it definitely frustrated us.”
On the other end the Broncos were able to hold possession and prevent Wright State from building too much of a threat. The Raiders did have two chances directly in the box, one in the first half and one in overtime, but both missed the mark and went wide.
Dedvukaj,
Olivia Vollmers and
Ariana Donahue each landed two shots on goal, while Makenzie Barber hit the post late in the second half for her best scoring chance. Junior goalkeeper
Kaitlyn Collin earned a shutout after the hard work of her back line without making a save as all five WSU shots were off the mark. WMU has now not allowed a goal in
Western Michigan heads on the road at Loyola Chicago on Friday at 6 p.m. and at Michigan State on Sunday at 1 p.m.