Syracuse, N.Y. - The Le Moyne College women's soccer team came away with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday evening, battling through the rain for 110 minutes against a physical Pace University team.
The Dolphins struck first in the second minute of the contest with a rebound goal by junior forward Amya Naja (Gansevoort, N.Y./South Glen Falls). It was redshirt freshman Danielle Casey (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) who corralled the loose ball in the Pace defensive third after a Setter defender mishit an attempted clear. Casey successfully chipped the ball over the Pace goalkeeper, but the defense recovered and made a goal line save, after which Naja came crashing into the six yard box to gather the rebound and deposit the ball into the back of the net to give the Dolphins an early 1-0 lead.
The Dolphins attack produced six corner kicks in the first half, creating plenty of chances to double their lead through set-piece crosses from first year defender Hildur Unnarsdóttir (Kópavogur, Iceland/Commercial College of Iceland). In the fifth minute of the match, an Unnarsdóttir corner kick found the head of senior
Ali Greco (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) whose shot went just wide of the net. With 33 minutes remaining in the first half, Unnarsdóttir provided another threatening corner, this time it was Casey on the receiving end of the cross, heading the ball in the direction of redshirt freshman
Magda Aspholm (Östersund, Sweden/Jämtlands Gymnasium Wargentin) standing directly in front of the Pace goalkeeper. Aspholm was able to flick it on goal with her back facing the net, but Anderson made the save for the Setters.
In the 10th minute, senior Vittoria Fuduli (East, Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow), taking a free kick near the left sideline of the Le Moyne attacking third, tried to slip a pass to Greco making a diagonal run across the penalty area towards the near post, but a Pace defender was able to intervene and put an end to the Le Moyne attack.
With 21 minutes remaining, Greco sent a cross from the left sideline careening across the box, aimed for Aspholm running towards the far post, but the ball skipped across the slick turf all the way to the other sideline and out of harm's way.
Pace went on a quick counter attack with four minutes remaining in the first half, culminating in forward Amber Probasco getting taken down in the Le Moyne penalty area, earning the Setters a penalty kick. Senior Isabel Villar stepped up and put away the PK to even the match at 1-1.
15 minutes into the second half the Dolphins created a great scoring opportunity when Casey played a through ball to graduate student Maddison Vine (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Lisbon), who found herself behind the defense with only Pace reserve goalkeeper Annabella Cole to beat. The first year goalie came off her line and cut down Vine's scoring angle and the shot went just wide of the left post.
Both sides created chances in the 81st minute of the contest. First, Unnarsdóttir found Naja checking to the ball about 20 yards from goal. Naja flicked it on to a sprinting Lexi Aquilino (Depew, N.Y./Maryvale) but Cole made a point blank save to keep the tie intact. Then it was Le Moyne goalkeeper Allison Moreau (Sauquoit, N.Y./Sauquoit Valley) who made a crucial save after Probasco broke away from the Le Moyne defense and took a shot on goal.
With four minutes left in regulation, Greco brought down a pass off a Le Moyne throw-in, turned towards goal and ripped a shot on frame that landed in the arms of Cole.
Moreau was unflappable in net down the stretch for the Dolphins, coming off her line to grab the ball before Pace forward Allison Carr could get to it in the 97th minute, and making a diving save off a Pace breakaway with just seconds left in regulation.
The Setters went on the offensive at the start of the first overtime period, but the Le Moyne defense held strong. In the 92nd minute, first year defender Camille Burruano (Buffalo, N.Y./Webster Schroeder) blocked a Probasco shot from inside the Dolphins' penalty area.
In the 96th minute a Burrano free kick from just inside midfield was mishandled by the Pace goalkeeper, almost resulting in a Le Moyne goal, but instead rolling just wide of the net for a corner kick.
With five minutes left in the second overtime, Casey found Wilson on the right side of the Pace 18-yard box, but Wilson's shot went wide.
The Dolphins received key defensive contributions from junior Reagan Sames (Rexford, N.Y./Shenendehowa) and senior Maddie Rhodes (Andover, Mass./Andover) during the extra time periods.
At the end of 110 minutes the score remained tied and the contest ended in a draw.
Le Moyne head coach Carrie Bonus had this to say about her team's performance following the match, "Players ground out a result against a strong Pace side. We're doing the right things, but the margins for error in soccer are thin. If we can work as hard as we did today, we'll have a great season to look back on at the end of the year. Right now we're just building on positives from each game."
The Dolphins record now sits at 1-1-1, while the Setters now hold a 2-1-1 record.
The Le Moyne women's soccer team will host another Northeast-10 matchup on Saturday, September 18 when they play Stonehill College at Ted Grant Field at noon.
