ERIE, Pa. – Darlene Eckhardt scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to lift Houghton past Penn State Behrend 2-1 in non-conference action on Wednesday evening.
Eckhardt was at the right place after Stephany Ellison's initial shot hit off the crossbar to help the Highlanders (3-0) remain undefeated on the season. Ellison tallied the other goal for Houghton early in the first half.
Olivia Belack (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) had the lone goal for the Lions (2-1), while Taylor Troyan (Butler, PA/Butler) was superb in between the pipes with five saves including a point-blank stop in the 70th minute on a shot by Ellison.
Coming off an undefeated weekend, Behrend took it to the Highlanders in the first half, taking 12 shots and holding Houghton to just five.
Despite the slow start, the Highlanders got on the board first after a defensive miscue in the ninth minute. Ellison, the leading goal scorer for Houghton with six goals, gathered a deflected ball by a charging Taylor Troyan and dumped the ball in the empty net for a 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, intercepted a ball out of the defense and got the equalizer with a shot from top of the box that was driven into the lower left corner to make it a 1-all game.
Shelby Lloyd (Beaver, PA/Beaver) had her only shot of the first half hit the crossbar with several other team shots just missing high of the crossbar.
The Highlanders came out ready in the second half and held an 11-2 shot advantage. Behrend relied on the strong goaltending of Taylor over the final 45 minutes, but Houghton was able to avoid
The Lions returns to action on Saturday at Drew. Game time is 12 p.m.
