WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State scored early, and Bridgewater State tallied late as the two school deueled to a 1-1 women's soccer draw in a MASCAC game at Alumni Field on Saturday.
The two teams entered and left the match tied in the conference standings. Both schools are 6-4-2 overall and 3-1-1 in league play.
Westfield struck first, scoring eight minutes into the match when Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) fired a shot from the top of the box that appeared to skid on the wet turf just in front of Bears' goalkeeper Kellie Souza (Wilmington, Mass.), and the ball skipped through the short side hole for a 1-0 Owls lead.
Bridgewater finally equaled the game in the 84th minute, when Alana Vincent (Taunton, Mass.) loaded up a blast from 20 yards out on the left side, that fired just under the cross bar on the right upper 90 that Westfield goalkeeper Natalia Falcone (Sutton, Mass.) had no chance to save.
Rennich had a chance to give the Owls the lead with less than five minutes left in regulation, when her shot from the left side snuck through traffic and hit the far post.
Bridgewater had the best of the scoring chances in the first overtime, outshooting Westfield 5-0 in the frame, with best chance slipping by the boar when Kellsie Mitchell (Mount Hope/Bristol, R.I.) hit the post.
Westfield held a 3-1 edge in chances in the second ot, the final one coming when Juliana Templeman's (East Longmeadow, Mass.) header was saved by Souza with less than five minutes to play.
The Bears finished with a 12-6 total advantage in shots on goal, many launched from far out. Falcone made 10 saves for the Owls, and got a defensive save from sweeper Casey Rotti (Wachussett/Rutland, Mass.) late in regulation. Souza finished with five saves for Bridgewater.
Westfield State will be back in action on Wednesday, October 17 hosting 15th-ranked Brandeis at 4:00 p.m. at Alumni Field. Bridgewater will travel to Keene State on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.