PHILADELPHIA – Senior defender Olivia Leaman sank the game-winning goal with 25 seconds remaining in the second overtime session as La Salle captured a 3-2 win over Rider at Hank DeVincent Field on Saturday afternoon.

"The game was a perfect display of the heart that this team has," Leaman said. "The victory came from 99 minutes of team effort. This is just the momentum that we need to take us into the start of A-10 play."

The win marks the second straight for the Explorers (2-3), who topped Villanova earlier this week in the home opener.

The Explorers showed tremendous poise on Saturday afternoon, rallying back from a 2-0 deficit with two goals in a 4:06 span late in the second half to force overtime. Rider (2-3) certainly had its chances in both overtime periods, but sophomore keeper Rachel Hartman made eight saves including a couple of one-on-ones in the extra time. She tallied 14 total saves on the day. 

"Today's game was a complete team effort," Hartman said. "It was amazing to see the team come back from 0-2 and continue to fight until the last second."

"I'm very pleased with the way our team battled back from a 2-0 deficit," Head Coach Michelle Marks said. "We played with a lot of heart and determination and executed when we needed to. It was a wonderful team effort and great back-to-back wins leading into conference play against Davidson next week."

La Salle also had several chances throughout both overtime periods, including a shot that found the back of the cage in the first overtime but was ruled a foul. Leaman finally broke through with her goal with 25 seconds remaining in the second OT off of a penalty corner. If the score remained tied, the two squads would have went to a shootout.

Maddy Tettelbach took the penalty corner, finding Leaman at the top of the circle. Leaman dribbled around the circle before lofting the ball over the right side of Rider keeper Joelle Prettyman for the game winner. The senior defender also recorded a defensive save in the game while recording three total shots.

Rider opened scoring in the 19th minute as Shannon Hughes picked up a loose ball in a scramble in front of the cage and sent it over to Allison Baligian, who chipped the ball in.

The squads played back-and-forth ball after that, with neither team really gaining momentum as the score stayed 1-0 into the halftime break. 

The Broncs added another score in the 41st minute when Carlie Spaeder deflected in a shot taken by Stacey Dileo. Dileo received the ball off of a penalty corner taken by Carlota Alsina.

The Explorers gained control of the game when they came out fired up after a timeout. Juliana Carfagno scored her first goal of the season at the 58:26 mark to put the team on the board. Eileen Dzwill recorded her first collegiate point on the assist when she picked up the ball in a scramble and got it over to Carfagno for the score.

Sophie Lozowski added her first collegiate goal just 4:06 later, taking a pass from Carfagno at the top of the circle and rocketing the ball past Prettyman into the back left of the cage to knot the game at 2-2.

Both teams had plenty of opportunities throughout regulation and the two overtime periods, combining for 52 shots in the game. Rider attempted 29, 17 of which were on point while La Salle had 23 attempts with 15 on-goal. The squads also combined for 20 penalty corners, with the Explorers edging the Broncs 11-9 in that category. The Explorers dominated the corners in the extra sessions, taking six to the Broncs' two.

The Explorers close out their three-game homestand on Friday (9/19) when they host Davidson in the Atlantic 10 opener at 3 p.m.