Box Score NEW LONDON, Conn. – In the battle for the seventh and final seed in the NEWMAC women's soccer tournament the Bears tied the Blue 1-1 on Tuesday night at the Coast Guard Academy.
Wellesley came out strong early in the first half testing the Coast Guard's back line with three of their first four shot being on goal.
Within the first ten minutes of the half junior Abigail Hess sent a cross from a corner kick into the Bears box. Junior Juliette Fry met the cross and fired a shot on goal. Senior Holly Moore knocked down the shot and was able to scoop up the rebound to thwart the Blue's attack.
Wellesley had another opportunity from a set piece when freshman Zoe Matticks sent a service into the box from the left side. Sophomore Adrianna Rosario rose up and headed the cross on goal. Rosario's attempt beat Moore but went just wide of the goal.
The Bears settled down midway through the half and were able to put the Blue's on the defense.
Sophomore Terry Netusil sent a ball over the top of the Wellesley defense that bounced just outside the eighteen yard box. Junior Sarah Hills beat her defender, received the ball, and found herself one on one with senior goalkeeper Claire Cerda. Hills fired a shot on goal but Cerda was able to knock down the shot. Hills collected her shot but was unable to put it back on goal, and the ball was cleared out of danger by the Blue's defense.
Towards the end of the half junior Hanna Jansson took a set piece from just above Wellesley's penalty box. Jansson took a high arching shot that Cerda rose up to save but could not hold. Sophomore Katie Clark attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick but was unable to connect, and the ball was cleared out by the Blue's defense.
The second half saw more of the same back and forth play and each team was able to capitalize on an opportunity.
The Bears were first to get on a scoreboard at the 60:08 mark as a long shot from senior Julia Mundy managed to bounce over junior goalkeeper Kat Goldsmith's, who replaced Cerda at the start of the second half, and into the goal for Mundy's first goal of the year.
Wellesley tied the game in the 77th minute when freshman Melise Knowles took a pass at the top of the Bear's penalty box. She beat her defender and fired a shot on goal that snuck into the bottom corner for her fifth goal of the year.
The game headed into overtime and Moore made a number of brilliant saves to keep the game level and preserve a result for Coast Guard.
In the first overtime period, Knowles had the ball on the right side of the Bear's eighteen yard box. Knowles hit a curling shot to the back post, but Moore made a diving save to turn away Knowles' shot and keep the game knotted at one.
Moore was called on again when a scramble in the box found Hess with the ball at her feet. Hess went to fire a quick shot but Moore was there smoother the ball and stop another Wellesley attack.
The Blue had their best opportunity of the game in the second overtime period when Knowles' pass found a wide open junior Darlene Dang just inside the Coast Guard penalty box. Dang took a shot, but miss hit it, and the ball went wide and out of play.
Wellesley continued to pour it on until the last minute as Knowles came down the right side with twenty seconds left in the match. She went to fire a shot but Moore again answered the bell and made another sliding save, forcing Knowles' shot out of play.
Moore made 11 saves in the tie bringing the Bears record to 8-7-2 on the year and 3-5-1 in the NEWMAC.
Cerda and Goldsmith combined to make five saves taking the Blue's record to 8-7-4 overall and 2-5-2 in the conference.
Coast Guard can wrap up a postseason berth and the seven seed for the NEWMAC tournament with a win at MIT or Wellesley loss to Springfield on Saturday.
The Bears wrap up their regular season on Saturday, November 1st when the travel to Boston to face MIT in NEWMAC competition. Game time is 1:00 pm.
