TEANECK, N.J. – After evening its match with Saint Francis with a first-half goal, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team forced overtime again against their Northeast Conference rival, this time falling 2-1 on an overtime goal.
 
Freshman Isabelle Udovc equalized for the Knights (6-8-3, 4-2-1 NEC) with her first goal of her career, evening the score at 1-1. The two teams played to a draw through the rest of regulation, and it was the Red Flash (6-7-3, 4-1-1 NEC) that came away with a golden goal with 4:43 remaining in the extra period.
 
The loss snapped the Knights' four-match win streak heading into the day and also elevates Saint Francis into a tie with the Knights for second place in the NEC standings.
 
"I don't think we played at our best," head coach Eric Teepe said after the match. "I think we turned the ball over way too much in bad areas of the field. We gave up the early goal, and it was good that we came back and fought back and played through, but in the end, we didn't do enough to deserve the game. We need to be better."
 
The Red Flash challenged Knights junior goalkeeper Amanda Fitzgerald with a shot on goal one minute into play, and they created another chance in the 16th minute, with an initial shot off the right post rebounded into the net to provide a 1-0 lead.
 
The Knights fought back and took less than nine minutes to counter with a score of their own. Freshman Lea Egner played a ball from the near corner to sophomore Andrea Garcia, who instantly crossed into the middle of the box. Her pass connected with Udovc for a header that was out of reach of the SFU goalkeeper, tying the match at 1-1.
 
Fairleigh Dickinson continued to press on the attack, with freshman Madelyn Robbins trying a shot only a few minutes later that was saved. The two teams, however, would enter the halftime break even at 1-1.
 
The Knights were not able to create as many scoring chances in the second half, with their best effort coming in the 64th minute when Egner played a ball from the far side into the box and found sophomore Alyssa Caggiano for a header. Her redirection, however, missed over the crossbar.
 
Fitzgerald turned away three Red Flash shots in the second half, including one with nine minutes remaining that required a full extension dive to her right in order to corral the ball.
 
FDU was held without a scoring opportunity in the overtime period, and the Red Flash converted on their third try of the period to end the match.
 
"It's disappointing," Teepe said. "You expect your team to be ready to go, and that's on me. We need to be more focused and a little calmer, and that's something we have to figure out. Now we're in a dogfight. We controlled things going into this game and now we don't. We got to find a way to win a game next week."
 
Fitzgerald finished the match with four saves, elevating her career total to 289.
 
The assist for Egner was her fourth of the season, tying her with Elma Kolenovic for most on the team. Garcia recorded her second assist of the season on Udovc's goal.
 
Each of the past three meetings, and four of the last five overall, between Saint Francis and Fairleigh Dickinson have required overtime.
 
The Knights close out the regular season at University Stadium on Sunday, October 28, when they take on Sacred Heart. The game will also feature a Senior Day ceremony prior to the start of the match.