Senior defender Nolin Packer led the Cougars to victory with a golden goal in overtime Thursday evening at the Carl Lewis International Complex. | Catt Lara/The Cougar
Thanks to overtime heroics from senior defender Nolin Packer, Houston defeated ECU in overtime by a score of 1-0 to give the Cougars their first conference victory of the season.
The UH offense came out firing, putting up five shots in the first 20 minutes of the match.
Their defense started the match equally as impressive, not allowing the Pirates to take a shot until the 26th minute of the match.
ECU developed their tactics into the match, slowly pushing the ball inside of Houston’s box and to get their first shot of the game.
Houston did not let up, continuing to mark their presence late in the first half. Both teams continued to attack the others half while exchanging shots on net.
UH managed to put up six shots in the first half after a strong start to the half on both sides of the field. UH held ECU to only two shots heading into halftime tied 0-0.
The second half proved to be the better start for ECU, as the Pirates came out of a tough first half firing from all angles, tallying three shots on goal. All were saved by senior goalkeeper Samantha Cude.
Houston kept up with the dominant second half start by ECU, as the Cougars put up a few shots to even out the momentum heading toward the later stages of the second half.
Both teams pushed the ball forward and made the most out of their possessions, but neither team was able to pull away. The second half came to draw and both teams headed to overtime.
Overtime started with almost completely new squads on the field as both teams made their share of substitutions to go out and win the match.
It did not take long for the Cougars to spark a strong start in overtime, winning two corner kicks that lead to a game-winning golden goal by Packer.
The victory gave the Cougars a tick in the win column in American Athletic Conference play and a jump to 4-11 overall.
Houston will look to put two wins together when it hosts Cincinnati on Sunday at Carl Lewis International Complex.
