Winthrop rallied from two goals down to beat Liberty, 3-2, in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament on Thursday in Charleston, S.C.
Erin Foote was the hero for the Lady Eagles, setting up Ashley Bader for the tying goal with 48 seconds left in regulation and winning the game with a golden goal 39 seconds into overtime.
Liberty had gone ahead after 40 minutes thanks to headers by Amy Oberlin and Kendall Bartholomew, but Winthrop did not fold.
“I think that we had a little bit of nerves in the first half,” said Winthrop head coach Melissa Heinz, “and coming in the second half we just kept believing. We never stopped believing. I changed the lineup a little because when you are losing, 2-0 there is nothing to lose. You can see what happens when you have a full team of believers.”
Bader started the comeback with her first of two goals four minutes into the second half.
Winthrop, the No. 5 seed, joined No. 1 Coastal Carolina, No. 3 High Point and No. 7 UNC Asheville in the semifinals.
BIG SOUTH
Quarterfinals
Nov. 8 in Charleston, S.C.
Winthrop 3 (Bader 49, 90, Foote 91) Liberty 2 (Oberlin 5, Bartholomew 40) (OT).
Coastal Carolina 1 (Gunning 48) VMI 0.
High Point 3 (Rager 12, 81, own goal 78) Radford 1 (Vergara 39).
Charleston Southern 1 (Boyce 39) UNC Asheville 1 (Beeler 36) (OT).
(UNC Asheville wins 4-2 on penalties.)