The No. 13 UW-Whitewater women’s soccer team, came back from a 2-0 deficit to dethrone North Central University 3-2 in OT on Sept. 20.

The Warhawks comeback was powered by a hat trick from senior midfielder Morgan Beaty. They completed the comeback without one of their key players, senior midfielder Marie Lesperance.

Lesperance, who was red carded in UW-W’s last contest against No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis, was automatically suspended against the Cardinals.

The Warhawks had some opportunities to take an early lead but could not capitalize. Junior forward Karina Rosales almost put her team up in the 12th minute but North Central’s goalkeeper, Gretchen Frantz, made the stop.

The Cardinals proceeded to get on the board first in the 15th minute off a goal from forward Allyson Viederis.

Forward Lexi Dimovski of North Central almost scored in the 22nd minute but her shot bounced off the top of the crossbar and out of play.

The Cardinals eventually scored again in the 40th minute, this time by forward Anna Brodjian, putting her team up 2-0 at halftime.

Once the second half started, the Warhawks took flight. With aggressive offense, Beaty and co. finally scored the Warhawks first goal of the game in the 57th minute. Rosales was given the assist.

“It’s our third straight Wednesday we were (down) 2-0 at half, so I did not really have to say too much because it’s been the same adjustment,” UW-Whitewater head coach Ryan Quamme said.

Nine minutes later, Beaty struck again with a header to tie the game. The returning junior forward Kaci Schonert recorded the assist on the goal. It was Schonert’s first game since Sept. 6 at Loras College.

Dimovski almost put the game away for the Cardinals in the 86th minute, but missed a gigantic opportunity after her shot ricocheted off the top post.

UW-W’s fourth overtime game of the season lasted well longer than the eight seconds against Wittenberg University, but the result ended up identical.

It took nearly seven minutes for the Warhawks to score, but it did not matter, especially for Beaty, as her game winner completed the hat trick. Junior midfielder Mackenzie Serbousek was handed the final assist of the contest.

“It feels great,” Beaty said. “It feels even better with the fact we were down and able to come back from being down; I just figured that someone needed to bring the energy that she (Lesperance) usually brings for us and I was happy to do that.”

The season is far from over, but according to Quamme, Beaty’s hat trick is a heart-warming highlight of her career so far.

“I’m proud again of how we fought back,” Quamme said. “It’s (Beaty) a senior, and I just wanted to end her senior year the right way.”

The Warhawks, now 5-1-2, ended the game with 11 shots on goal and one save, while the Cardinals finished the contest with three shots on goal and eight saves.

UW-W will host the Milwaukee School of Engineering for senior day on Sept. 23 at Fiskum Field. Game time is slated for a 2 p.m. start.