Jackson's Three Goals Top Albany in OT
Senior Brittany Jackson posted the first hat trick of her career in the 3-2 overtime win
Senior Brittany Jackson scored the first hat trick of her career, accounting for all three Central Connecticut goals, as the CCSU women's soccer team topped Albany for a 3-2 overtime decision on Friday night in New Britain.
Watch the Game-Winner
Central led 2-0 in the first half, before the Great Danes rebounded for a pair of goals in the second half to force overtime.
Jackson's goal came 7:08 into the extra frame, and it gave the Blue Devils the home victory. Central is now 2-2-2 overall on the season.
Jackson scored her first goal of the season at 32:32 in the first half. She took a pass on the right side of the box from freshman Julie Lavoie and beat Albany keeper Dani Britt to the lower left corner of the goal. Freshman Rosie Maguire also contributed on the play, leading to the 1-0 lead.
Jackson's second goal came four minutes later and gave the Blue Devils the 2-0 lead at 28:33. She was in front of the goal on the left side, Maguire fed the pass and Jackson tapped it for goal number two on the night.
Albany cut the lead in half at 52:26. The Great Danes sent the ball into the middle of the box, and Central keeper Nikola Deiter had the ball slip through her hands. Albany's Aubrey VanGorder took the rebound and scored to the lower left side of the goal to make it 2-1.
With 22 minutes left in the half, Deiter made a big stop on a breakaway for the Great Danes. Albany had a two-on-one and Deiter came out to the top of the box to stop the ball immediately.
Less than two minutes later Albany tied the score, following a turnover deep in the CCSU zone. Shayla Bergeron took the turnover and scored just inside the left post to tie the game 2-2.
Deiter made another point blank save with under 15 minutes to play in the second half. She stopped a scoring attempt from Bergeron to keep the game tied.
The Blue Devils had three solid scoring chances in the final three minutes, but Britt made three good saves before the end of the half to force overtime.
Jackson's third and final goal ended the game in the first overtime. She took a deep pass from freshman Danica Foglio and sent a header to the back of the net for the win.
Jackson ended the game with her three goals, her first scores of the season. Maguire had two assists and Foglio and Lavoie each added an assist.
Central Connecticut returns to action on Sunday at 3 p.m. vs. Siena. The game will be played at Willow Brook Park. Live stats will be available at CCSUBlueDevils.com.