Coyotes fall to Northern Iowa in hectic second half

Northern Iowa (4-3) came back to defeat USD (1-5) 2-1 in an eventful second half at the First Bank & Trust Soccer Complex on Sep 6th.

Following a throw-in by junior Abby Ostrem, sophomore Jordan Centineo scored a solo goal for the Coyotes in the 55th minute off a pass from junior Alexis Mitchell.

The Coyotes held the lead for 31 minutes before the Panthers scored a pair of goals in the 86th and 88th minutes of the game, securing the win.

“It tells us that we need to finish 110 percent,” Centineo said. “Throughout the whole 90 minutes, and even with five minutes left when you think you’re gonna win, it just proved to us that it’s a 90-minute game, not 85.”

Centineo’s goal on Northern Iowa is her second of the season, her initial goal was against Loyola-Chicago just two minutes before the end of the match.

Centineo is still transitioning to center forward, where she moved after beginning the season at center back.

“It’s a huge change,” Cenineo said. “It’s the opposite side of the field so it was hard for me to figure out the different positions and what I need to do for both of them.”

Teammate Taylor Cotter noticed a difference in Centineo’s game after her move.

“Coach gave her a chance in one of our games in Chicago at forward and she scored,” said Cotter. “Now she just keeps going forward and scoring, so she’s doing good and we’re all really proud of her.

Cotter provided two shots on goal for the Coyotes — one being a bottom center attempt in the final 15 seconds of the game.

“I think I had a good shot right there at the end of the game,” Cotter said. “But we just gotta keep our heads up as a team and a whole and just get that win that we’ve been working for.”

As a team, the Coyotes dished 15 shots, three saves and seven corner kicks during the game.

“It definitely had a lot of ups and downs, that’s for sure,” Cotter said. “But our coach [Michael Thomas] has really been emphasizing these past couple of days that five percent more and we all need to give at least 5 percent more so we can up our game and not end how it did today, just work harder.”

USD will face Eastern Washington in Vermillion on Sunday, Sept. 15 at noon.