New Britain, Conn. – With two goals from redshirt-junior defender Danielle Casey (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), and a career-high two assists from sophomore defender Jasmina Barhoumi (Worms, Germany/Nelly-Sachs-IGS/D'Youville), the Le Moyne women's soccer team nearly earned a win over Central Connecticut State at the CCSU Soccer Field on Sunday in Northeast Conference action, but the Blue Devils tied the game at 2-2 in the 81^st minute to salvage a draw at home.

CCSU currently sits at the top of the NEC Standings with 20 points and a 6-0-2 conference resume. The Blue Devils have won each of the last five NEC Regular Season Championships, and have not lost a regular season conference game since October 10, 2021.

Central Connecticut State, which was coming off a 3-0 win over second-place Merrimack on Thursday, took a 1-0 lead against the Dolphins in the 10^th minute when senior forward Giavanna Inzerillo assisted on junior forward Aoife Horgan's eighth goal of the season.

Le Moyne answered back with two goals before halftime, as Casey scored two headers off free kicks taken by Barhoumi.

Casey put away her first goal of the season in the 22^nd minute, then registered her second career brace when she gave the 'Phins a 2-1 lead in the 39^th minute.

Barhoumi was credited with assists on both goals, and she now has a team-high seven points so far this season.

The game's final shot on goal was taken in the 88^th minute by Le Moyne sophomore midfielder Lindsey LeBlanc (Westminster, Mass./St. Bernard's), but CCSU goalkeeper Melina Ford made the save and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. The Dolphins recorded six shots on goal during the 90 minutes.

Le Moyne graduate goalkeeper Allison Moreau (Sauquoit, N.Y./Sauquoit Valley) came up with nine saves for the 'Phins, and surpassed 300 career saves during the contest. Moreau is now seventh all-time among Le Moyne goalkeepers in career saves.

The Dolphins now have five points in the NEC Standings.

"Our players were relentless in the pursuit of a positive outcome in this game," said Le Moyne head coach Jaro Zawislan.  "They played with urgency and executed well enough to put us in the position to get a result. In addition, they kept composure in what eventually became a highly emotional game. We always strive for a win, but getting this result against a quality team such as Central Connecticut State, which is first in the conference and undefeated in conference play, is huge for this program and is something to build on moving forward.

"The team showed tremendous character being 1-0 down in the first half, on the road, against the top team in the conference, rebounding with two goals before halftime and then carrying the momentum through the second half and earning a very significant positive result against a very good CCSU side," Zawislan added.

In the eighth minute of the match, graduate midfielder Marissa Lisikatos (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) earned a free kick for the Dolphins in the right side of their attacking third. Barhoumi played a ball in the air to the edge of the six-yard box, and Casey headed it straight up. The ball fell inside the six-yard box among a group of players, and junior defender/midfielder Brooke Wilson (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton) knocked it towards the net, but it was blocked by the CCSU defense.

In the 11^th minute, Inzerillo received a pass with her back to the goal and skillfully flicked the ball through to Horgan, who took a touch into the penalty area and placed her shot into the bottom left corner of the net to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.

With just over 30:30 remaining in the first half, a through ball from midfield put Inzerillo in on goal down the right wing, but her right-footed shot from just outside the top left corner of the six-yard box was saved by a diving Moreau.

In the 22^nd minute, Wilson drew a foul for the Dolphins near the right sideline. On the ensuing free kick, Barhoumi curled an aerial pass into the center of the penalty area towards the edge of the six-yard box. Casey was on a diagonal run with a defender closely guarding her, but she jumped to head the ball and expertly flicked it towards the far post, past the diving goalkeeper and into the net to even the score at 1-1.

The goal was Casey's first of the season. She previously tallied three goals during her redshirt-freshman campaign in 2021.

In the 39^th minute, junior forward Autumn Edwards (Greece, N.Y./Hilton/Monroe) drew a foul in Le Moyne's offensive half near midfield.

Barhoumi took the long free kick for the 'Phins, and she drove the ball in the air to the penalty spot where Casey headed the ball over the goalkeeper and into the left side of the net to give Le Moyne a 2-1 lead. Casey's two goals on Sunday tied her career-high. She also scored two goals during a win over New Haven in 2021.

The score remained 2-1 after 45 minutes of action.

Just under two minutes into the second half, Inzerillo volleyed a shot on goal from just outside the six-yard box, but Moreau moved to her right and made the save.

In the 56^th minute, CCSU sent a corner kick from the left flag into the middle of the six-yard box, but Moreau made a contested catch of the ball in a crowd of three Blue Devil players.

In the 68^th minute, Le Moyne freshman midfielder Giovanna Vigliotti (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) intercepted a pass in CCSU's defensive half, carried the ball up the center of the pitch, then took a left-footed shot towards the top of the net that nearly crossed the goal line as it was bobbled and then caught by the CCSU goalkeeper.

Le Moyne retained possession following the punt, and worked the ball up the left side of the field. Vigliotti switched the ball to the right side for sophomore midfielder Sydney Wells (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) who played a dangerous cross into the box that was knocked away by the goalkeeper.

Wilson won the ball back in the right side of the box and passed it to Wells, who sent it backwards for Lisikatos, who picked out a pass back to Wilson in the right side of the box.  Wilson took a touch towards goal then hit a right-footed shot that went over the upper left corner of the goal.

In the 81^st minute, Central Connecticut State junior forward Abbie Burgess played a ball from the right wing to the edge of the six-yard box for sophomore midfielder Sabrina Krause, who was able to kick the ball across the goal line to tie the match at 2-2.

The Dolphins did not allow a shot on goal for the remainder of the game, and the contest ended in a 2-2 draw.

"Throughout this season, our players have proven that they can play at this level. Today, they showed that they can get results out of games against the best teams in our conference. We are very proud of all the student-athletes in our program, the week of preparation went very well for this game. They earned this result. We will enjoy it tonight, and tomorrow we will start the preparation for our next game against FDU, which is 'Senior Day'. We look forward to honoring and recognizing our seniors with a special ceremony and a great game next Sunday," said Zawislan.

Kickoff for Sunday's match at Ted Grant Field between Le Moyne and FDU will be at 2:00 p.m. The "Senior Day" ceremony will take place prior to kickoff.

Following Sunday's match, the Dolphins will play their regular season finale on October 26 at Sacred Heart.