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Mount Saint Vincent sophomore Tracy Frank made NCAA history on Wednesday, Sept. 27, scoring the game-tying goal against Medgar Evers, only six seconds after junior Katherine Gentsch scored a goal to make it a 2-1 game. The previous record for consecutive goals in a Division III Women's Soccer game was seven seconds, accomplished by the University of Scranton on October 4, 1994 against Delaware Valley College. |
While outstanding big-game performances have seasoned the young midfielder during her first 21 games, nothing could have prepared her for what she accomplished on Wednesday, Sept. 27 as the Mount hosted Medgar Evers. While the Dolphins have not lost to Medgar Evers during the tenure of Head Coach Tony Elmore, the Cougars took to the field on a mission on Wednesday, scoring the first goal allowed by the Mount this season during the first half, and even took a 2-0 lead midway through the second half. As the clocked clicked down into the final three minutes of play, Elmore said he thought his team was set to suffer an upset loss.
“You never want to say a game is over, but when you’re down two and it’s the final few minutes, you tend to think it’s just not your day. At the same time, I knew we had the quick-strike capability to come back, so there was no way in my mind the game was completely over,” Elmore said.
Quick-strike indeed. In fact, Mount Saint Vincent became the fastest striking team in NCAA Division III history, scoring an improbable two goals during a six-second span to tie the score. First, junior Katherine Gentsch (Staten Island, NY/Curtis HS) received a brilliant pass from freshman Jamie Longo (Concord, MA/Concord-Carlisle HS) and found the back of the net with 1:19 remaining in regulation to make it a 2-1 game. Although time was not on the Mount’s side, Elmore said he knew all the Dolphins needed was the ball to avoid what would have been a stunning loss.
“I think we broke (Medgar Evers) with the first goal. You could feel our energy level just explode and they almost completely deflated. They had played an incredible game to that point, but we had all of the momentum in the world on our side. All we needed was the ball. I had no idea how much time was left, but I knew there wasn’t much. If we could just get the ball back, I knew we would tie it.” Elmore said.
And that’s exactly what happened. Medgar Evers immediately turned the ball over at the re-start, and Frank found herself 35 yards from the goal, at an odd angle, but with enough space to uncork a hard, high shot. Her laser of a shot struck pay-dirt, and the Mount tied the game, 2-2 with 1:13 to play. No team in NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer history has ever scored two goals in faster succession than the Mount. The previous record was seven seconds, accomplished by the University of Scranton against Delaware Valley College on Oct. 4, 1994. Elmore said he thought the consecutive goals were approaching a record, but had no way of knowing if it was indeed the NCAA record.
“It was fast, I could tell you that much. Faster than any two goals I have ever seen. I knew it had to be close to a record, but at that moment, in that game, my thoughts were winning the game in overtime, not NCAA records. Looking back at it, considering that we were down and it was so late in the game, scoring twice in six seconds was pretty amazing.” Elmore said.
Of course, the storybook ending came to reality as Longo scored on an outside blast of her own 2:04 into overtime to give the Dolphins a 3-2 win. For Frank, the situation was one she is used to and she said she was very comfortable taking an outside shot like the one she did in such an important situation.
“When I was younger, I learned to try to shoot from the outside with power, and it is something I try to do when I have the opportunity. I’ve been in this situation a lot during my career. It was a tough angle, and it was outside, but I knew where the goal was, and I wanted to put it on net. I had no idea it was going in when I took the shot, but at the same time, we had the momentum and I had space to shoot. I guess I like having the ball when the pressure is on. It’s a great feeling to know I was part of the play when we score big goals,” Frank said.
When reminded that her heroics on Wednesday were eerily similar to her championship-winning tally last November, Frank smiled and said that it was not the same situation, but similar in that she knew the team would win.
“We weren’t going to lose on Wednesday to Medgar Evers. I knew we have a team here that wasn’t going to let that happen. It was a different shot than the one I hit against CSI. It was a little further outside. But with both goals, while I’m certainly happy to be the one who scored, I also know that I play on a special team that was going to score the big goal whether it was me or somebody else. That’s what really matters.” Frank said.
