ABOVE: Fairmont midfielder Mollie Leiding dribbles past a defender during a Big South Conference girls soccer match against Marshall on Tuesday night in Marshall.

MARSHALL — Lauren Zarling played the hero for the Fairmont girls soccer team in their Big South Conference matchup against the Marshall Tigers on Monday night. Marshall tied up the game with seven minutes to play, but Zarling kicked in a rare buzzer-beater goal to give Fairmont a 4-3 win over the Tigers.

“[I was thinking] there’s no way this happened, this isn’t real,” Zarling said after the game. “It’s fun to celebrate with the team, and it’s just really exciting because we won the game.”

In the attacking end on the left side of the box, Marshall kicked the ball out of bounds as the final seconds ticked away. Abby Simpson scrambled over to the sideline, drew in a pair of defenders who were guarding the throw, and Simpson found an open Zarling. Zarling quickly got off the shot into the top shelf for the win.

“I wasn’t really thinking. I just knew I had to score, so I just kicked the ball and it just perfectly chipped over the goalie’s head and went in,” Zarling said.

In 20 years of coaching, Fairmont head coach Matt Nielsen said he’s never seen a match end in a buzzer-beater before, adding that he had to go check with the officials after the goal to confirm there was still time on the clock after the goal. Nielsen commended Simpson’s play on the throw as well as Zarling’s internal clock for getting the shot off in time.

“It was just an amazing effort,” Nielsen said. “It was a great team win. Everybody was active, Marshall was outstanding. It was a fun game to coach. A little nerve-wracking, but a fun game to coach. Either team could have won at any given time.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the second of the season between Marshall and Fairmont. Last time around, the Cardinals defeated Marshall 3-2 behind goals from Lianna Weber, Mollie Leiding and Addyson Urban.

Elsie Deutz saved Marshall from the loss in the 73rd minute. Deutz had gotten loose for fast breaks on consecutive trips down the field, but one of her shots was saved and the other sailed wide right. On her third fast break, however, she had a few feet of breathing room between her and the pursuing defenders, and sent the equalizer into the left side of the goal for a 3-3 tie.

Mataya Weber came up with a go-ahead goal for Fairmont in the 58th minute. The two teams went scoreless for the first 18 minutes of the second half, deadlocked at two goals apiece, but Weber came up clutch with a goal in the center of the box to give Fairmont a 3-2 advantage.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, Deutz scored her second goal of the match to give Marshall a 2-1 lead. She received a pass just left of the goalpost and sent a shot nearly parallel to the goalline into the opposite side of the goal to put the Tigers on top.

Yet, the lead was short-lived. In the final minute of the half, Leiding dribbled her way down the left sideline, worked her way into the box and drilled a shot into the back of the net, tying up the match at two goals apiece.

“I think it just tells them that we’re on the right track,” Nielsen said of the team’s ability to quickly respond to Marshall’s goals. “We’re actually still not where we want to be in terms of quality of our play, but this was another signal that we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve only got three games left to make sure we’re there, but I’m really pleased with them and it reinforces that we’re doing okay.”

Addison Folkerts finished the match with six saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Emma Messenbrink made five saves for the Tigers.

Deutz also scored the match’s first goal in the sixth minute. The sophomore forward got rolling on a fast break, speeding down the middle with a pair of defenders trailing her. About 18 yards out from the goal, Deutz ripped off a shot that beat the keeper for a 1-0 lead.

Fairmont was also quick to answer Marshall’s first goal. Just five minutes after the opening score, the Cardinals earned a corner kick. Leiding stepped up to the corner and delivered a perfect cross to Weber, who centered herself across from the goal and kicked it in from point-blank range to tie it up at one goal apiece.

Each team finished the first half with nine total shots, but Fairmont had the accuracy advantage with five shots on goal to Marshall’s three.

Marshall (4-8-1) next heads to St. James to take on Wings United on Thursday at 7 p.m. while Fairmont (8-3-2) host Worthington for its next match on Thursday at 7 p.m.