BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. - - A last minute second half goal forced overtime as the Wilmington University women's soccer team was unable to hold off Pace on the road and settled for a 1-1 tie Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action at Pace Field.
Wilmington (0-2-1) took the lead in the 49th minute and nearly held on for the victory before Pace (0-1-2) knotted the game with 1:59 remaining on the scoreboard. The teams would play two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods to reach a 1-1 draw.
After a scoreless, evenly played first half which had Pace outshooting Wilmington, 7-5, the Wildcats got on the board first in the 3:56 into the second half.
Pace opened the second half with five straight shots, as Wildcat goalkeeper Amanda Walters made a save and got help from the goal post on another, but couldn't get one past the line. Victoria Vasapolli capitalized on the Wildcats first opportunity, beating Settlers net-minder Leslie Robertson for her first goal of the season. Robertson entered the game at the start of the second half.
Pace poured on the offense for the rest of regulation, putting up 16 shots in the second half, forcing Walters to make four saves. The Settlers also out cornered the Wildcats, 2-0, in the second half, but it was the second one that they made count.
With 2:16 remaining in regulation, Pace's Allyson Dyl took the second corner of the half for the home team, sending the ball towards Reid Coffey. Unable to clear the ball from danger, the Wildcats had the win taken away ad Coffey beat Walters to knot the score at 1-1 in the 89th minute.
The overtime periods were much more closely contested, as each team fired off two shots in the second overtime to keep the shots even in the extra 20 minutes. Pace was able to get one more corner kick in the two periods combined, but neither team tallied with the golden goal.
Pace outshot the Wildcats, 25-13, for the game and had an 8-3 advantage on corners throughout the match.
Walters made eight stops in 110 minutes of action while Pace starter Courtany Hagen made three saves in 65 minutes and Robertson stopped one save in 45 minutes.
The Wildcats stay on the road this weekend as they head to Dominican to open the CACC portion of their schedule. The CACC matchup will begin at 12 p.m.