The University of Redlands women's soccer team sank a clutch goal late in the second half to earn a 1-1 tie against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Wednesday night in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) matchup on Farquhar Field.
The Athenas jumped on the board early with a breakaway goal down the right side in the 16th minute to gain a 1-0 advantage. Just a minute later, CMS challenged senior goalkeeper Brittany Dinkins (Renton, WA) once again, but she was there to make the save.
In the 30th minute, senior forward Bryn Anderson (Tahoe City, CA) created an opportunity with a crafty shot but it, unfortunately, sailed wide. Dinkins made another great stop, followed by a defensive block by the Maroon and Gray backline in the final two minutes of the first stanza to go into the break down by a goal.
After an energetic halftime speech, the Bulldogs came out aggressively in the second with a shot by senior forward Gabby Hart (Burien, WA) that missed high off of a corner kick. Back and forth play ensued for much of the second half as junior midfielder Eva Vlassopoulos (Portland, OR) earned two, 1-on-1 chances with the CMS keeper in the 77th and 79th minute, but the shots were saved.
Nonetheless, Redlands finally broke through with a sweet goal in the 84th. Junior defender Abby Nordquist (Gig Harbor, WA) settled the ball near midfield and sent it forward to first-year defender Taylor Pisan (Redmond, WA) down the left flank. Pisan took a few dribbles and let it rip from 20 yards out, beating the CMS goalkeeper with a bending shot to the upper-right 90 and the equalizer.
The Bulldogs attempted one more shot in the final minute of regulation that went wide, sending the teams into the first overtime period.
The Maroon and Gray fought hard with two attempts in the first two minutes of extra time that were both saved. CMS only took one shot that went wide.
In the second overtime, the Bulldogs once again put pressure on the Athenas' goalkeeper. Vlassopoulos nearly headed the ball in off of a corner kick and then tried to knock it in off the rebound, but the shots were saved and blocked. Redlands' final attempt came off the foot of senior midfielder Mel Johnson (Bremerton, WA) in the 108th minute but it also went wide, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
The Bulldogs (4-3-3, 1-1-3 SCIAC) take to the road for a conference matchup against Caltech on Saturday, October 5 at 11 a.m.
