No. 17 Taylor Suffers First Loss of Season in 3-2 Heartbreaker at Madonna

No. 17 Taylor University saw its unbeaten start come to an end Saturday afternoon as Madonna scored twice in the final 15 minutes to rally past the Trojans, 3-2.

Taylor (5-1-1) overcame an early deficit and carried a 2-1 advantage into halftime, but Madonna produced a late second-half comeback capped by the game-winning goal with just 75 seconds remaining.

Madonna wasted little time getting on the board, as Lillian Hayter scored just three minutes and 18 seconds into the contest to give the Crusaders a 1-0 advantage.

The Trojans responded in the 29th minute. Sydney Reddy found the back of the net at the 28:50 mark to pull Taylor even at one.

Taylor then grabbed the lead just before halftime. With only six seconds remaining in the opening half, Leilani Bisera scored to send the Trojans into the locker room with a 2-1 advantage.

That score held for much of the second half.
Madonna finally broke through in the 76th minute when Eva Parker scored the equalizer, setting up a frantic finish.

With the match appearing headed toward a 2-2 draw, Madonna struck one final time. Canses Gibson scored at the 88:45 mark, completing the comeback and giving the Crusaders the 3-2 victory.

The two sides finished even with 11 shots apiece, although Taylor generated considerably more opportunities from set pieces with an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks. Madonna’s goalkeeper made seven saves, while Taylor recorded five.

The loss is the first of the season for the 17th-ranked Trojans, who move to 5-1-1. Madonna improves to 3-4-0.