DUBUQUE, Iowa – Brenna Stremlau capped the Roosevelt women's soccer team's second-half rally from two goals down, scoring the Lakers' third unanswered goal in the 83rd minute for a wild 3-2 comeback road win over Clarke on Saturday afternoon.
Delaney Barrett and Haley Swords also scored to help the Lakers (2-3) upend the Crusaders (1-3) in stunning fashion during a five-goal second half.
The first 45 minutes proved fruitless on the offensive front for both teams, but just 30 seconds after halftime concluded, it was Clarke's Lydia Storms that broke the scoreless tie with a goal following a pass from Sara Doerr.
An unlucky bounce just six minutes later dug what appeared to be a major hole for the Green and White, as the Crusaders were credited with their second tally of the game on a Laker own goal.
Undeterred, the Lakers participated in the 26-shot offensive uptick that defined the second period and eventually cashed in on their push ahead. A whistled infraction in the box at the 74th-minute mark resulted in a penalty kick for the Lakers, and Barrett took the honors with ultimate success to put Roosevelt on the board.
Less than a minute later, it was the freshman sensation Swords, who finished the game with team-leading seven shots and six on frame, who cut through the Crusader defense and gave Roosevelt new life with her third goal of the early season that made it a 2-2 affair.
Playing off a new energy from the two-goal rally, Roosevelt continued to pepper Clarke with shots and saw that attack pay off with Stremlau getting through the defense and scoring an unassisted marker that proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Green and White defense held on for the next seven-plus minutes to cap a remarkable comeback on the road.
Roosevelt wraps up its four-match road stretch on Friday, Sept. 12 against Goshen.
