ROCK ISLAND C The Monmouth women=s soccer team is proving itself to be a group to be reckoned with in the future as the Fighting Scots battled regional non-conference rival Augustana College to the final minute. The Vikings prevailed in the match by a 3-2 count, but the Monmouth women showed their ability to overcome adversity by fighting back from two goals down as the team continues to mature and gain confidence. The Scots fall to 5-4 on the season with the loss but came away with several positives despite the defeat.

Augustana scored the only goal of the first half in the 11th minute on a free shot which eluded freshman goalie Trisha Larson (Rockford,IL/East). Larson stopped three other Viking shot attempts and split game time with freshman Natalie Harris (Oswego,IL/HS), who allowed two second-half goals and saved two other shots. Augustana=s second score was also an unassisted goal and came in the 57th minute of play to give the hosts a 2-0 advantage.

Monmouth responded three minutes later as striker Jennifer McKee (Stockton,IL/HS) sent an assist pass from freshman Jessica Adams (Harvard,IL/HS) whistling past the Augie goalie from the right side of the net. The goal was McKee=s second of the season but the junior wasn=t through there. After the two teams had traded several possessions, McKee connected on another goal, this time on an assist from sophomore midfielder Jill Heneghan (Godfrey,IL/Alton), in the 81st minute to tie the match at 2-2. The match appeared headed for overtime but, with less than four minutes remaining on the clock, the Scots= defense misplayed a ball in front of their own goal and Augustana was able to knock home the game-winner.

AWe began slowly but really turned up the heat in the second half, playing the way we had practiced for the match,@ said Monmouth coach Simon Cordery. AOther than a couple of mental lapses, we played well overall. It was an excellent, exciting performance.@

The Scots now face a stretch of four consecutive home matches as they prepare for the final weeks of the fall season. Monmouth plays host to Blackburn (Saturday) and Maryville (Sunday) in non-conference action next weekend with both matches scheduled to start at 1:00 PM at Bobby Woll Field.