BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— With just six seconds remaining on the clock in the second 10-minute extra period, Kaitlyn Adams and the Montreat women's soccer team scored a dramatic game-winner to snag a victory from the clutches of a draw against the Milligan University Buffaloes.
 
Neither team proved to be overly threatening in the match's opening 30 minutes of play. The first shot on goal for either side came in the 31^st minute; coincidentally, it was also the match's opening goal. Isabel Aguilar sent a corner kick into the box, and Milligan couldn't connect on the initial clearance. With the ball loose around the six-yard box, Jackie Montes stepped up and poked a shot through the traffic and across the line for 1-0 Cavaliers lead.
 
Holding the one-goal halftime advantage, the Cavaliers just needed to keep Milligan off the scoresheet to claim three points in regulation. For nearly 40 minutes, the Cavs did just that, but in the 87^th minute, Milligan finally broke through.
 
Breaking down the left flank with numbers pushing forward, Ellie Cachiaras had the ball at her feet. With the defense shifting to stop her run, Cachiaras looped a ball toward the box. Ashlen Burch got onto the end of the pass with yards of space around her. She settled the pass, took a strike and leveled the contest at a goal apiece.
 
Tied at one, Montreat and Milligan headed to overtime.
 
Using the momentum of a late equalizer, Milligan seemed to have the upper hand in the first overtime period. The Buffaloes nearly won the match in the 100^th minute. Earning a free kick in a dangerous area outside the box, Alex Thomas stepped up a fired a right-footed shot toward net. Hurling herself to the right, Payton Landy dove and parried the shot wide of the post with her right hand. The crucial game-extending save earned the Cavaliers another 10-minute overtime frame.
 
That save shifted the match back in Montreat's direction. Montreat kept inching closer to a game-winner, but time was running out. In the final 30 seconds, it appeared the match would end in a 1-1 draw. Enter Kaitlyn Adams.
 
The sequence started with Payton Landy quickly resuming play with a boot toward midfield. After a brief hold up near the center circle, the ball fell to Hayden Bunn. Bunn turned toward the sideline and saw Adams with acres of space down the right side. Sending the ball forward, Adams ran down the flank and tracked down Bunn's pass on the edge of the box. On one touch, Adams took a right-footed shot that worked its way around Lauren Davies and across the goal line.
 
With just six seconds left on the clock, the Cavaliers had their sudden-death double-overtime game-winner.
 
"In the last 30 seconds, [Landy] noticed that we needed a goal," Adams said. "She got the ball super fast and noticed me in transition. [Bunn] got the ball, played it over the top, and I just put it in the back of the net."
 
The 2-1 win moves the Montreat women's soccer team to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). Milligan drops to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the AAC.
 
"I was really proud that we didn't quit on this game," said head coach Kristin Eggert. "The other team seemed willing to play for a tie and we just kept coming at them, and we were able to put it in the back of the net and finish it out in the last 10 seconds."
 
Montreat women's soccer returns to the pitch on Wednesday at Columbia International University for an AAC matchup.