Wisconsin-Milwaukee soccer player Jelena Sever sets record with opening kick goal vs. Youngstown State
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's soccer player Jelena Sever scored on the opening kick of Sunday's game against Youngstown State.
Sever's kick sailed over the Youngstown State goalkeeper's head and bounced into the goal. The goal officially happened 3.2 seconds into the game, setting a new NCAA women's soccer record, regardless of division. The previous mark was held by North Carolina's Yael Averbuch, who scored four seconds into a game against Yale in 2006.
The moment sparked a barrage of goals for the Milwaukee Panthers, who went on to win 7-0.
"To get a goal in three seconds is just Jelena being creative and recognizing the situation," Milwaukee coach Troy Fabiano said. "Obviously, she had to deliver and this one worked."
We present you TWO different angles of @NCAASoccer HISTORY, as Jelena Sever 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗼𝗳𝗳 in :03!
Congrats to @severjsoccer on the 𝑨𝑴𝑨𝒁𝑰𝑵𝑮 feat, breaking the old mark of :04.
I think we have a definite #SCtop10, @ESPNAssignDesk! pic.twitter.com/tEwJqXLjff— Milwaukee Women’s Soccer (@MKE_WSoccer) September 26, 2021
The former record-holder recognized the accomplishment.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/wVROnjIeiU
— Yael Averbuch West (@Yael_Averbuch) September 26, 2021
Such goals are extremely rare in soccer. Typically, opening kicks are routine plays where a player casually kicks to a teammate to initiate the start of play.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UW-Milwaukee women's soccer player Jelena Sever scores fastest goal