PHILADELPHIA - Emily Johnston's golden-goal powered La Salle to a 10-9 win over Mount St. Mary's in a triple overtime thriller on Saturday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium. 

Playing through windy and snowy conditions, the Explorers (2-0) and Mountaineers (2-1) were tied 5-5 at the halftime break and 9-9 at the end of regulation. After two scoreless overtime sessions, Johnston and the Explorers broke through in the third extra period as the preseason A-10 All-Conference midfielder fired home her third goal of the game to improve La Salle's record to 2-0 to begin the 2022 campaign. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Maddie Henderson got the Explorers off to a fast start, scoring two free-position goals in the opening six minutes as La Salle took an early 2-1 lead.
• After Claudia Steinmetz extended the La Salle lead to 3-1, the Mountaineers ended the first quarter on a 2-0 run to make the score 3-3 after 15 minutes. 
• Each side traded a pair of goals in the second, led by Emily Johnston's two-goal quarter. The graduate senior's second goal of the game came with seven seconds remaining in the half, as La Salle and Mount St. Mary's were locked at 5-5 at the break. 
• The Explorer defense stiffened up in the third, allowing just one goal while Henderson completed her hat trick and Kiki Venza tallied a goal to stake La Salle ahead 7-6 entering the fourth. 
• To start the fourth quarter, each team went on a 2-0 run started by goals from the Mountaineers' Dani Donoghue and Erin Anderson. 
• Erin Welsh fired home the equalizer for La Salle on a feed from Lola Quigley, before Quigley got on the board herself with 9:32 remaining to give the Explorers a 9-8 lead with 9:32 remaining. 
• The Mountaineers responded, scoring with 5:22 left in regulation to tie the game and eventually force overtime. 
• Mount St. Mary's controlled the opening draw control of overtime, but La Salle goalkeeper Kelli McGroarty, making her first appearance of the season, made one of her 10 saves in the game to keep the Explorers alive. 
• The Mountaineer defense matched La Salle's stop, forcing an Explorer turnover to bring the game to a second overtime. 
• In the second extra period, Johnston forced a key turnover while teammate Erin Welsh secured the ground ball to stop Mount St. Mary's opening offensive possession. After the Explorers turned it over, McGroarty made another save in the final seconds to force a third overtime period. 
• After the Mountaineers controlled the draw, McGroarty made her third save in overtime to set up Johnston's heroics. 
• With the shot clock dwindling, Johnston dashed to the net and fired a shot into the top of the net to send La Salle home with a thrilling victory, 10-9. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Making her first collegiate appearance in the second half, McGroarty made 10 saves across 39 minutes of action while conceding just four goals. Julia Dellaratta added four saves of her own. 
• Henderson recorded the first hat trick of her career, scoring three goals on five shots while also tallying three draw controls.
• Johnston tied with Henderson for the team lead, scoring three times on three shots. The do-it-all midfielder added two caused turnovers, four draw controls, and a ground ball. 
• At least six different Explorers found the back of the net for the second-straight game to open the 2022 campaign.
• The stifling Explorer defense caused nine turnovers while securing 23 ground balls. 
• The Mountaineers held the edge in shots (28-25) and draw controls (14-11).

UP NEXT:
After starting their season with two games at McCarthy Stadium, the Explorers will hit the road on Wednesday, Feb. 23 to take on Delaware at 4 p.m.