NORTON, Mass. – The Worcester State University women's soccer team opened up the 2017 campaign with a 2-2 draw with Wheaton Friday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium.
THE BASICS
September 1, 2017
Mirrione Stadium
Score: Worcester State 2, Wheaton 2 (2OT)
Records: Worcester State (0-0-1) | Wheaton (0-0-1)
1st HALF
Worcester State's rookie forward Talia Borci (Leicester, Mass.) put the Lancers ahead early on a tally just 1:05 into the game as a bad clear by the Wheaton defense resulted in a clear shot for Borci.
Following the Lancers' first goal, Wheaton marked up five consecutive shots, but were unable to push one through Worcester's freshman goaltender, Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.). The second goal of the contest wasn't scored until the 34th minute when Wheaton's Hannah Lepordo (Sudbury, Mass.) knotted the game at 1-1 on a strike from the top of the goalie's box.
2nd HALF
Megan Healy (Huntington, N.Y.) put the Lyons ahead for the first time just 54 seconds into the second stanza. Wheaton held the 2-1 advantage over the Lancers for the majority of the second half until in the 87th minute when Worcester State senior forward, Ashleigh Howland (Wilmington, Mass.) sliced one into the back of the net following a pass from teammate Megan Gurlitz (Auburn, Mass.). The next three minutes were scoreless which led into the overtime.
OVERTIME
In the first overtime, Wheaton and Worcester State went hand-in-hand with shots, each picking up two apiece. In the double overtime, Wheaton's Healy and Lepardo were able to get a shot off, however one was block and one was saved to decide on the 2-2 draw.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The Lancers' Kaitlin Beluzo (E. Longmeadow, Mass.) chalked up a game-high three shots on net.
- Worcester State's rookie goalie, Zinkus, played the entire 110 minutes and registered eight saves for a .800 save percentage.
- Wheaton saw two goalies in net, as Alexa Barbagallo (Bridgewater, N.J.) played the first 45 minutes, and Leann Wolf (Santa Maria, Calif.) went in for the remainder of the game.
- Despite the tie, Wheaton outshot the Lancers by a 35-9 margin. However, Worcester State registered a 77.8% on goal percentage while the Lyons' shot on goal percentage was 28.6%.
- Worcester State committed 21 fouls throughout the contest and allotted Wheaton seven corner kicks.
- Worcester State is 1-9-2 all-time against Wheaton, dating the series back to 1998.
- The last meeting between the two teams was last season when they Lyons shutout the Lancers 1-0.
UP NEXT
Worcester State is on the road for the next two games (MIT and Salve Regina) before opening at home on Saturday, Sep. 9 when they host Clark University at 12 noon.