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9/24/2006 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Senior Monica Buff’s first collegiate goal came at an opportune time for Vanderbilt in the 100th minute of overtime to give the Commodores a 2-1 win over Arkansas in Southeastern Conference soccer action Sunday afternoon at Razorback Field. Vanderbilt, playing in its third straight overtime contest and sixth of the season, improved to 5-1-4 on the year and 1-0-1 in SEC play, while the Razorbacks fell for the first time in seven games to drop to 7-2 overall and 0-1 in league action. Arkansas scored at the 25:33 mark in the first half and held the lead for fifty minutes, before the Commodores tied the game in the 76th minute. The teams then battled into overtime, where the Razorbacks had a couple of shots on goal in the first OT period, but were denied by VU goalkeeper Tyler Griffin. Buff, playing in her 68th game as a Commodore, scored the gamewinner at the start of the second overtime period, as she took a feed from Lea Lafield and kicked it in from the right wing into the far post. “It was a great goal,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Coveleskie. “It showed the true character of a senior captain because she literally dove for the ball and put it into the far post. She understood the importance of the game for us and did what she had to do to get that ball in the back of the net. Lafield was a central figure in the Vandy attack, as she also tied the game at the 76:28 mark in the second half with her third goal of the year. The Texas native took an assist from Amy Baumann and scored on a shot from 14 yards out off of the Razorback goalkeeper. UA’s Christina Burger scored her sixth goal of the season at the 25:33 point to put the Backs on top 1-0 in the first half. It was the first goal given up by Tyler Griffin in 434 minutes, dating back to the second half of the Dartmouth match on Sept. 3. Vanderbilt held a 5-3 shot advantage in the first half and then dominated possession in the second stanza with a 15-2 shot lead. The Razorbacks had three shots in the first overtime (two on-goal), before VU scored the game-winner on its only shot in extra time. “We came out flat in the first half,” said Coveleskie. “We had a chat at halftime and the girls came out after intermission and competed and played hard. I like that they rose to the challenge and got a hard earned win.” “Arkansas is an organized team that played very hard and battled throughout the match,” added Coveleskie. “Every game is important in the conference and the fact that they were rested after not playing on Friday, caused us to have to dig deep and come through on a Sunday afternoon on the road after an overtime game. I was very proud of the team for their effort.” The Commodores have gone 5-0-2 in their last seven contests and return home for a four- game homestand starting with Alabama on Friday at 7 p.m. at the VU Soccer Complex. VANDERBILT 0 1 0 1 – 2 ARKANSAS 1 0 0 0 – 1 Goals: VU: Lea Lafield (3), Monica Buff (1). ARK: Christina Burger (6). |