WINTHROP – Marc Fortin had begged his forwards to shoot the ball away from Monmouth goalkeeper Katie Woodman.

Fortin’s Ramblers did just that late in the second half Monday. The only problem was that Mustang fullback Jill Armstrong was there. She cleared the ball away from an open net and both teams ultimately settled for a 1-1 tie.

“I saw their goalie out, and one of their fullbacks had to make the save,” said Fortin. “I thought that was going in. I thought we had some good opportunities. We just didn’t finish them off.”

Winthrop (8-4-2) outshot Monmouth (7-5-2) 15-13, but both clubs had ample scoring chances in the second half. Woodman and her counterpart in net, Anna Smithgall, had outstanding efforts as both teams put up nine shots in the second half.

It was Armstrong’s save in the second half that might have been the biggest, nixing a Rambler opportunity with an open goal.

“It happened so quick,” said Armstrong. “I just happened to be there.”

The win should solidify Winthrop’s position in the Western C standings. The Ramblers have been around fifth or sixth and expect to hold that spot and earn a bye of the first round. A Monmouth win might have bumped the Mustangs up into that territory.

“If we won, I thought we would have had a home game,” said Monmouth coach Gary Trafton. “We’ll make the playoffs, but we might be traveling.”

The Mustangs took the early lead when Jen Lola finished off an Armstrong pass 11:20 into the game. Winthrop tied it minutes later when Lindsey Gordon scored with 22:40 left in the half. A pass came from the left side, and Gordon drilled it off the post.

“We want to play with our hearts and everything we’ve got,” said Gordon. “We always get pumped up, and if they score, we want to come back and keep pushing it.”

Monmouth’s Ashley Riley had a bid late in the half when she tried to break in alone, but Smithgall beat her to the ball. A Gordon corner kick led to trouble late in the half. Gordon had a crack at it when the ball bounced back her way at the left post, but Woodman was there to cover it first.

In the second half, Courtney McFaren, Jess Gray and Lola all had quality tries for the Mustangs. It was a chip by Katy Wiederhorn that bounced off a crowd in front, including Woodman. The ball got behind the crowd, but Armstrong was there to clear it.

“Katie went out to get it,” said Armstrong. “It fumbled a little bit. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It hit me in the stomach, and I kicked it out.”

Elaine Theriault’s tip late in the half off a Gordon corner was saved by Woodman.

In overtime, Monmouth lost Lola to a leg injury with 1:38 in the second overtime.