After No. 23 Wheaton College battled back from an early Tufts score to go up 2-1, the women's soccer team netted the equalizer in the 74th minute with a penalty kick from senior co-captain midfielder Lauren O'Connor. The 2-2 deadlock held, and the Jumbos and Lyons concluded 110 minutes of tough play with a split decision.
Prior to the Wednesday afternoon matchup, the Lyons and Jumbos were among the top-five ranked teams in the New England region, listed at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively. The play reflected these rankings as both teams traded momentum throughout the contest.
"Wheaton is our biggest non-conference opponent of the regular season," O'Connor said. "We knew how much this game meant as far as regional rankings go, so we came out firing right off the bat."
In just the fifth minute, senior midfielder and co-captain Olivia Rowse controlled a pass from classmate Laney Siegner and headed the ball past Wheaton senior goalkeeper Lindsay Leddy for the early 1-0 lead.
Twenty-three minutes later however, the Lyons struck back. Sophomore forward Kristina Braga beat out the Jumbos' defense to redirect a through ball from junior forward Cassey Muse past Jumbos sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Wright. At the intermission, the Jumbos and Lyons boasted relatively even statistics, with four and three shots, respectively, and Leddy and Wright each posting two stops.
In the second half, it was Wheaton who came out strong and broke through for a second goal in the 56th minute. Again, Braga used her speed and footwork to best the Jumbos' experienced back line and converted an assist from Lyons senior quad-captain Emily Vincunas into the go-ahead score for the Lyons. Wheaton preserved its lead for nearly 20 minutes, until O'Connor's strike brought the Jumbos back into the game.
"We knew we had plenty of time to get it back so we just wanted to stay composed, possess the ball and know the goal or goals would come," O'Connor said.
For the remainder of regulation and the first overtime, play was even, although both teams failed to convert on scoring opportunities.
In the second overtime, both O'Connor and Braga produced promising runs for their teams that could have turned the tide either way. Instead, Leddy and Tufts junior keeper Phoebe Hanley stepped in to hold the result at 2-2.
