BOX SCORE  

BOX SCORE

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Sydney Golden (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar) set up two goals and Radford held off a furious Liberty rally in the final 25 minutes to pick up a 3-2 Big South road win on Friday evening in women's soccer action from Williams Stadium.

Bouncing back from their first league loss of the season, the Highlanders (12-4-0, 7-1-0 Big South) have now won seven of their last eight and 10 of 12 contests. The one-goal victory was the fifth of its kind in Big South matches and sixth overall this season.

After dominating and grabbing a 3-0 advantage in the 54th minute, the first-place Highlanders weathered a surge by the Lady Flames (6-7-3, 3-4-1) and held on for an important road victory.

The 12th win on the season matches last season's total as Radford reaches this milestone for the ninth time in program history, the sixth during Sohrabi's tenure.

Golden's two helpers doubled the defender's season total to four. In the defensive third, the sophomore was big, clearing several Liberty services into the box and stopping many attacking opportunities.

Radford took advantage of several Golden free kicks from inside its half of field to grab a 2-0 lead going into halftime. Sophomore's Rachel Conway (Kitchener, Ontario/Forest Heights Collegiate) and Sahar Aflaki (Gainsville, Va./Battlefield) connected on loose balls off those services to give the Highlanders a two-goal advantage after 45 minutes.

As Kara Blocker was trying to regain possession after her initial miscue, Conway knocked in the loose ball for her third score of the season at the 8:03 mark.

Aflaki's strike came from 10 yards out after Golden's service dropped in the box and the loose ball found Aflaki's foot for a two-goal advantage in the 34th minute.

The Highlanders pressured the Lady Flames the majority of the first half holding a 9-4 advantage in shots and 4-1 in corner kicks. Blocker finished the half with four stops, while Che' Brown (Manassas Park, Va./Manassas Park) handled both of Liberty's scoring attempts.

A give and go off a throw-in between junior Mary Wiley (Radford, Va./Radford) and sophomore Julie Ruh'e (Monrovia, Md./Urbana) pushed the lead to 3-0 early in the second half.

After Ruh'e gathered the toss and touched it back, she was returned the favor. Wiley lofted it into the box and Ruh'e placed it over the on-rushing Booker in the 54th minute for eventual game-winner and her team-leading sixth goal.

Two quick strikes by the Lady Flames midway through the second half cut the Highlanders lead to 3-2.

Casey Norris put Liberty on the board in the 66th minute sneaking in a header off a service from Laura Nyholt. Just 2:34 later on a loose ball during a corner kick, a score by Geena Swentik made it a one-goal contest.

Liberty registered five more shots after cutting the lead to one, but Brown made two saves and a third scoring attempt was blocked.

Brown finished with five saves and her counterpart Blocker stopped seven shots for the Lady Flames. Radford out-shot Liberty, 15-12, and held an 8-5 advantage on corners.

Radford continues its season-ending three-match road swing at VMI on Oct. 25 at 3 p.m.