NEW LONDON, Conn. --

With the Bears of Coast Guard holding onto a playoff spot in 8th place and Mount Holyoke tied in 9th, both squads felt like they needed this one. Instead, both squads walk away with a 0-0 tie earning one point each in the standings. With the tie, Holyoke moves to 4-4-6(1-4-4 NEWMAC).

Early on, Coast Guard dominated the possession but were unable to find the back of the net. By the end of the half, CGA had outshot the Lyons 14-1 with three on goal, eight corners, while Holyoke had none. The score however, was tied at 0-0 despite the Coast Guard ball dominance in the 1st. Mia Forti(Madison, CT), Anabelle Pezzullo(Ashaway, RI), and Lulu Vlases(Bozeman, MT) each got shots off on goal for Coast Guard in the half.

With the advantage of Coast Guard goalkeeper Emily Scharnitzky(Charleston, SC) staring into the sun the entire half, Holyoke was unable to test her with any shots on goal. The Lyons did however nearly score on their one and only shot with the ball flying mere inches over the crossbar midway through the half. 

Scharnitzky was tested early in the second half. Determined to will her team to victory on senior day, Emily sent away the Lyons first shot on goal with a diving save at the 50:05 mark in the 2nd. 

Nearly 10 minutes later, the Bears got some opportunities of their own. At 59:04, Mia Forti nearly gave the Bears the lead on a shot missing just left on the goal. Less than a minute later, another opportunity arose when Tara Jessen(Signal Mountain, TN) put a beautiful centering pass just in front of the goal but no teammates were able to get there to capitalize and the Lyons took over possession.

After 10 minutes of stellar defensive play on both sides, CGA nearly took the lead again. After a Holyoke foul deep in their own territory, Lulu Vlases took the free shot and put a beautiful ball on goal but a leaping save by the Lyons goalkeeper sent the chance away. Shortly thereafter, Jules Romano(Bordentown, NJ) broke through for the Bears but yet again Mount Holyoke goalkeeper Evie Krieg(Frisco, TX) was able to make the save. Then Mia Forti, on her 6th shot of the afternoon found a way to get her foot on the ball with a cluster in front of the goal but the shot would ricochet off the crossbar and out of the goal to keep the score at 0-0. 

Despite not scoring, forward Mia Forti was everywhere for the Bears today. The CT local had numerous near goals and played a major role in nearly every Coast Guard offensive possession. 

In a last gasp effort to score, the hustle of Mia Forti earned a corner with one minute remaining but the Bears were unable to find the net. Finally, with less than three seconds left on the clock, senior defender Sydney Park(Severna Park, MD) sent a pass into the box for fellow senior Riley Viciananzo(Vestavia Hills, AL) but as she had so many times on the day, Holyoke goalkeeper Evie Krieg made the stop to secure the 0-0 final.

The defense for Coast Guard was spectacular on the day. Led by senior captain Grace Flynn(Severna Park, MD), the Bears gave the Lyons very few offensive opportunities.

The tie moves Coast Guard to 2-10-4(2-5-2 NEWMAC). They will travel to Salve Regina to face the Seahawks at 3:30 Wednesday October 30th.