HIGH POINT, N.C. – Freshman Ashley Johnson (Springfield, Va.) delivered her second goal of the game in the fifth minute of overtime, lifting No. 2 Radford over No. 7 UNC Asheville, 2-1, in first round action at the 2008 Big South Women's Soccer Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

The winning tally for the Highlanders (12-1-6) followed a wild final six minutes of regulation, where Radford went ahead 1-0, before the Bulldogs (5-13-1) answered with 54 seconds remaining to tie the game.

"We played good soccer and sometimes it was indirect and sometimes it was direct," head coach Ben Sohrabi said following the game. "We played well all the way through from goalie to forwards and I am proud of our team.”

Johnson's game-winning goal came 4:24 into the overtime period when junior Jill Boyer (Severn, Md.) sent a crossing pass through the penalty box that slipped through UNCA goalkeeper Veronica Lazar's hands to Johnson, who punched the ball into the open net for the decisive tally.

Johnson's second multi-goal game pushed her team-best total to 12, the second highest for a Radford freshman is school history. It also marks the most since that record was set in 1990 by Radford's all-time leading goal scorer Sue Williams with 16.

After 84 scoreless minutes, the Highlanders got on the board when sophomore Latrice Lee (Woodbridge, Va.) brought the ball into the UNCA box and left a pass from the right side for Johnson, who rifled a shot into the top left corner of the net, giving the Highlanders a late 1-0 lead.

In the final minute of play, UNCA netted the equalizer when a deflected ball deep in the Radford half found Katy Beeler in the goal box, who scored on a close-range shot to send the match to overtime.

With the win, Radford advances to face No. 3 VMI, 2-1 winners over Winthrop on Thursday, in the Big South Semifinals Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.