LAREDO, Texas (Oct. 10, 2019) – With less than five minutes left in a tie game, Oklahoma Christian soccer coach Meagan Anderson gambled, inserting an attacking player to replace a primarily defensive player.

That decision paid off with what has to be considered one of the more dramatic plays in the program's history. Jordan Freidenbloom knocked home a corner kick from Brianna Concienne as time expired, giving the Eagles a 2-1 win over Texas A&M International on Thursday night at the Dustdevil Soccer Field.

The win was the first for OC (1-9, 1-4 Lone Star Conference) since last Oct. 13, when the Eagles also won 2-1 at TAMIU, and ended a 13-game losing streak. It moved OC – which opened its first LSC season with games against four of the league's top five teams – into a tie for ninth place in the standings and provided a much-needed ray of light.

"The girls wanted this game and were rewarded for their efforts," Anderson said. "We gave up a goal in the first five minutes on a careless recovery run, but they worked extremely hard to get this win. I couldn't be more proud of our discipline down the stretch in this game to come away with the win.

"This is a hard trip to make and can be tiresome on the body. We will most definitely enjoy this win tonight before looking to Saturday's game at St. Mary's."

Vivian Martinez scored in the sixth minute for TAMIU (2-5-1, 1-2-1) and the Dustdevils rode that lead well into the second half.

The Eagles finally broke through in the 61st minute, winning a free kick taken by TAMIU goalkeeper Ashley Barrientos on the TAMIU side of the center circle. Mary Olmos found fellow freshman Carson Hazel, whose strike from the edge of the penalty box slipped off Barrientos' outstretched hands and into the goal to tie the game.

OC outshot the Dustdevils 20-12 and controlled the action enough for Anderson to make the lineup gamble, inserting Isabel Brazil for Sarah Albert in the 86th minute. OC goalkeeper Gabby Goddard made the last of her three saves on a shot by Martinez with three minutes left, but it was the Eagles who did much of the threatening in the final stages.

"We were getting forward often and felt we could have defended enough through the middle as needed to afford the (lineup) change," Anderson said. "The more times we got forward, the more the girls believed something was coming for them. We were able to get up the right side often and had taken the play to the end line for a cross, which was blocked."

That play, with under 20 seconds left, won the Eagles a corner kick. Concienne, a junior forward from Flower Mound, Texas, sprinted to retrieve the loose ball, quickly set up for the kick and launched it into the penalty box.

With everyone forward for OC, the odds proved to be in the Eagles' favor as Freidenbloom, a freshman defender from Edmond, was able to shoot with one second left on the game clock. The ball went into the goal as the buzzer sounded, setting off a raucous postgame celebration.

Barrientos made eight saves for the Dustdevils.

OC will return to action Saturday, facing St. Mary's (Texas) at 1 p.m. at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio.