“We talked a lot about being physical and winning 50/50 balls,” Athens coach Travis Seese said. “And we did a much better job in the second half and in the overtimes of doing both. That made a huge difference. Plus, we put a few passes together and that got our attack going.”

After nearly 68 scoreless minutes, the home Jaguars broke through on a Bri Boldrin unassisted goal that sailed just out of the reach of Catamounts' goalkeeper Erin Crowley and into the left corner of the net.

But just as quickly as Athens (6-1, 4-1) grabbed control of the game, Panther Creek mounted a serious offensive threat. If not for a diving Rachel Collins’ save, the Catamounts would’ve evened the score less than two minutes later.

Five minutes later, however, Panther Creek (2-5, 2-3) knotted the score on a Kim Gardner goal.

With 5:30 left in regulation, Gardner found herself centered in front of the goal with a clear path between her and Collins. Collins made a sliding effort, but the ball skipped off her foot and into the back of the net.

“When we scored it gave us some momentum, but then we settled a little bit,” Boldrin said. “We can’t do that. We have to work on that. That’s what let Panther Creek tie the game. We did come back after that, though, and we got it going in overtime.”

Tied at one, the two teams battled through a scoreless first overtime. The only serious scoring threat came with 3:45 left on an Ashley Clark breakaway.

The junior forward slipped past the Jags defense and had only Collins to beat. But just as she had before, the senior keeper stoned Clark with a sliding save to deny the Catamounts the go-ahead score.

“Rachel was outstanding,” Seese said. “First she had that great save in the second half and then the shut down on the breakaway in overtime. She was fantastic. We don’t get the outcome we got without her making those plays.”

In the second 10 minutes of overtime, it was all Athens. The Jags offense kept constant pressure on the Panther Creek defenders early in the period and it paid off.

From midfield, Boldrin spotted Eshraghi running free down the left sideline and hit her in stride. The senior forward controlled the pass as she ran past the final Catamounts defender toward Crowley.

Crowley tried to cut off the angle, but Eshraghi fired a shot into the right corner of the net to put Athens up for good and seal the Tri-Nine victory.

“As I was dribbling the ball forward I looked up and spotted (Eshraghi) open downfield,” Boldrin said. “I just slipped it to her and she took it from there. She’s really great at finishing in the open field like that.”

Eshraghi has nine goals — second only to Green Hope's Reilly Brown in the conference — through the first seven games.