Zias late comeback falls short

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — The Eastern New Mexico University women’s soccer team waited just a little too long to get going on Sunday.

Trailing 2-0, sophomore defender Christie Nylaan scored on a header with just over 1 1/2 minutes left, but Midwestern State goalkeeper Heather Primavera made a sliding, one-on-one stop of a shot by the Zias’ Alicia Cunningham as time expired to preserve the Mustangs’ 2-1 Lone Star Conference victory.

The loss knocked the Zias (8-9, 2-6 LSC) out of contention for the upcoming league tournament. Meantime, Midwestern (11-6, 5-3) maintained its hold on fourth place in the conference.

The teams battled to a scoreless tie for nearly 70 minutes before Midwestern broke through on a goal by Brandy O’Neal. The Mustangs tacked on another goal, but Kari Bristow, in the 78th minute.

Nylaan headed in a deflection off Primavera with 1:37 left to pull the Zias within a goal. ENMU kept the pressure on and forced a turnover in the Mustangs’ zone, giving Cunningham a last-second chance to force overtime.

ENMU wraps up its season with LSC matches at Angelo State on Friday and at Abilene Christian on Sunday.