The Lindenwood field hockey team completed its weekend at Louisville, Ky. with 2-1 overtime win over St. Thomas Aquinas on Sunday.
 
In the first half, the Lady Lion offense had plenty of opportunities to tally goals, but could not seem to find the back of the net. They garnered six corner chances and recorded eight shots for the half with five of the on-goal variety. Most notably, from the 19:20 mark until the 23:46 mark, the Lady Lions provided the most pressure when Virginie Leyssens led the way with three corner attempts while Tara Robben shot twice and Karlie Quinn once.
 
Greta Banholzer began to apply some offensive pressure herself when she gathered two chances to compile goals at the 29-minute mark, but both were impressively saved by Spartans' goalie Jessica Stewart.
 
Stewart stood out for the Spartans given the Lady Lions dictated possession of the ball led by top scorers in Robben and Banholzer. Nicole Johnston nearly tabbed her first goal of the season, but Stewart batted the ball away at 27:50 mark. Both teams headed into halftime with a scoreless outing. This was the second time this season that the Lady Lions did not allow a single shot in a half with the first time occurring against Mercy in the first half on September 25.
 
In the beginning of the second half, the trend continued. The Lady Lions carried the ball onto the offensive side of the field in which they registered four corner shots and three shots within the first 18 minutes. Amelia Rodriguez initiated all of the corners while Johnston, Banholzer, and Graycen Dave each had an opportunity to score.
 
However, the Spartans were presented a rare and golden opportunity when Kaitlyn Gutenberger guided the ball to the Lady Lions' side of the field. She dished out to Louise Richardson who hit the Spartans' first shot of the game and found the net to give them the 1-0 lead at the 48:57 mark.
 
That did not slow down the Lindenwood attack though. Within the next nine minutes, Rodriguez earned three more corners while Robben zipped two more shots aimed a little too wide. Banholzer also belted a shot towards the goal, but Spartans defender Morgan Smeltzer guarded the goal at the right time to record the defensive save.
 
After various chances throughout most of regulation, Karlie Quinn knocked down the scoreless barrier. Johnston provided a nice pass to Quinn that gave the forward the green light to score. The game evened up at one goal apiece at the 57:56 mark.
 
During the remaining time of the second half, Robben tried to put the game away for the Lady Lions, but the Spartan defense was able to fend her off. Rodriguez once again started off four more corner plays in which each led to Robben-shot. At the 63:43 mark, Robben nearly sealed the deal, but Stewart recorded her 10th save of the game. The Lady Lions were heading into their second overtime of the season after falling in the first one to Queens (N.C.) on September 17.
 
Robben approached overtime no different than she did at the end of regulation. She registered two shots on goal that Stewart once again saved at the 76-minute mark. However, the Spartans nearly converted on a second golden opportunity, but this time to walk off and win. They earned their very first corner attempt of the game at the 77:27 mark that led to a shot from Richardson, but Skylar Starbeck was ready to stop the scare. She saved the shot that eventually built momentum for the Lady Lions on offense.
 
After 11 attempted shots, Robben put the final nail in the coffin and scored for the Lady Lions in their first walk-off victory since November 6, 2011.
 
Although the score indicated the game was close, the Lady Lions dominated possession of the ball throughout the entire game. They outshot the Spartans by a 25-2 margin with 15 of them being on-goal. The Lady Lions also had an outstanding amount of corners compared to the Spartans, registering 20 to the Spartans' one.
 
"Obviously a win is a win and we are happy to come away with the W," head coach Sarah Johnson said. "However, we had a lot of scoring opportunities and were unable to capitalize throughout the game. That will definitely be a focus for us this upcoming week."
 
She was though impressed by another aspect of the offense.
 
"Our passing patterns were beautiful," Johnson said. "Overall, we played well."
 
After the victory, the Lady Lions improve their record to 8-2 overall. They will take a few days off before heading to Garden City, N.Y. to take on Adelphi on Friday, October 14 at 3 pm CT.