PHILADELPHIA — Sophomore Madi Pilla slotted home the golden goal in double overtime and the Columbia women's soccer team overcame a first-minute deficit to defeat La Salle, 2-1, Wednesday evening at McCarthy Stadium.
 
La Salle (1-4-1) scored less than 10 seconds into the contest, forcing Columbia (2-2-1) to chase the game from the start. After barraging the Explorers with shot after shot for 83 minutes, the Lions finally got the breakthrough they deserved courtesy of Sam Cohn's beautiful cross to the head of Sophia Cavaliere at the far post.
 
The late equalizer sent the match to overtime. In the second 10-minute session, sophomore Nata Ramirez played a ball from the center circle up the field to first-year Claire Pinnie, who took one controlling touch before playing a through ball between two defenders to an unmarked Pilla down the near flank. The sophomore received the pass at the top of the penalty area, took one dribble inside and slotted a left-footed shot just inside the far post to send the Lions home victorious.
 
"It felt so good, especially since I know we were all exhausted at that point," said Pilla, who took a match-high seven shots, three of which came on goal. "It just felt really good to end the game the way we did after putting up such a huge fight the whole way." Pilla's strike was the last of a season-high 20 shots, 12 on goal, for the Lions. Sophomore keeper Paige Nurkin faced 16 La Salle shots and prevented the final 15 from finding the back of the net. Nurkin tallied five saves on the evening.
 
"It's an incredible win for the program," Columbia head coach Tracey Bartholomew said. "It's hard to chase the game, especially when you're young and on the road. We created a number of opportunities to score, which was reassuring, but you could see our kids getting frustrated when 80-plus minutes have gone by and you haven't scored yet. I'm so proud of the way they found a way and rallied back. It's such a gut-check moment — they just didn't quit."
 
La Salle keeper Jordynn Stallard made 10 saves to keep the Explorers in front for as long as she could. One of the more spectacular came in the first overtime, when Pilla got in behind the defense and faced Stallard one-on-one. Stallard denied a hard left-footed strike.
 
"I thought their goalkeeper made some incredible saves tonight," Bartholomew went on to say. "We created so many opportunities but a lot of our shots tested her up high. I thought it was a great decision by Madi [on the game-winner] to go low with it."
 
It wasn't long after La Salle's stunner in the opening seconds that the Lions got off their first good look. Ally Clark forced Stallard into a full-extension dive to her right to keep the Lions from leveling early on. Clark threatened again in the 25th minute, firing a shot from the near side of the penalty area off the crossbar. The rebound came down hard and was nearly put in but went wide of the far post.
 
"At halftime, we just talked about the will to win," Bartholomew continued. "Having that desire and creating the opportunities to finish. As coaches, we were super proud of everyone's fight and effort. To win on the road is massive for your program and La Salle is always a quality team in their conference."
 
Ramirez had a few good looks in the second half. An hour in, she created a turnover just outside of the La Salle penalty area and quickly fired a shot from 20 yards that forced Stallard into a leaping save, punching the attempt over the bar. Less than 10 minutes later, she received a pass in transition and got off a left-footed shot that went right into the arms of Stallard.
 
Columbia's breakthrough finally came and in remarkable fashion. Sam Cohn took a pass from Ramirez near midfield and drove all the way down to the left edge of the 18-yard box and the end line. The rookie floated a perfect cross to the far post, where Sophia Cavaliere rushed in unmarked to blast in the game-tying header. "We all know Sophia is great in the air and it was just about being there," Pilla added on her teammate. "It was such an excellent ball from Sam and Sophia did a great job of heading it in."
 
Pilla went on to be the hero, leveling Columbia's record at 2-2-1 courtesy of its second straight victory.
 
Columbia plays a little closer to home on Sunday, bussing just across the George Washington Bridge over to Teaneck, New Jersey to take on Fairleigh Dickinson. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.
For the latest on the Columbia women's soccer program, follow @CULionsWSOC on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook at Facebook.com/ColumbiaWSoccer and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.