WESTON, Mass. – Despite outshooting visiting Bay Path College by a 33-5 margin, the Regis College women's soccer team had to settle for a 2-2 tie in a battle of two New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foes on Saturday afternoon at Regis Stadium. The Wildcats move to 3-4-1, (1-0-1 NECC) with the draw, while the Pride move to 2-5-2 overall and 0-1-1 in league play.
Regis wasted little time and got on the board less than 15 minutes after the opening whistle. A cross from the outside right side of the field found its way into the middle of the box, where there was a scramble for possession. Senior midfielder Tess McLean (West Roxbury, Mass.) was able to get a foot on the ball and knocked it past freshman goalkeeper Alma Rizvani (Prospect, Conn.) for the 1-0 lead.
The lead proved to be short lived, however, as Bay Path evened the game at one apiece less than six minutes later. Senior Keelin Dougherty (Northfield, N.H.) weaved in and out of a pair of Regis defenders and walked in for a low, hard strike that beat goalkeeper Rachel Gagnon (Ashford, Conn.).
With the half winding down, Dougherty had another opportunity to give her team the lead off a corner kick. Her shot from a few feet off the goal line was on target, but Gagnon made a sprawling save to preserve the tie as the teams were getting ready to head into halftime.
With 30 minutes remaining in regulation, Dougherty fired a shot towards the top left corner of the goal that Gagnon was able to get her fingertips on. On the ensuing corner kick, senior defender Rachael Barber (Lynn, Mass.) connected with Dougherty, who scored after volleying the ball on a one-timer.
Trailing 2-1 late in the game, the Pride picked up the intensity and tried to generate as much offense as possible. Their pressure finally paid off in the 87th minute of play. A shot by midfielder Adena Joseph (Stoughton, Mass.) was initially saved by Rizvani, but the ball bounced out to Kristen Abreu (Woburn, Mass.), who knocked it home to send the game into overtime.
The Pride had their best chance to win the game in the second overtime period, but Rizvani came up with what was possibly the best of her 17 saves on the day. Abreu had beat two Wildcat defenders, cut in and ripped a shot, but Rizvani was able to get a handle on the ball.
Gagnon would finish the game with three saves for Regis, who had five different players record at least four shots during the contest. Jasmin Vivar (Attleboro, Mass.) led all players with nine shots, while Jackie Rocheville (Salem, Mass.) took five attempts, including one that smacked the crossbar with under two minutes to play in the second half.
The Pride will return to action on Tuesday for their final non-conference game of the year, as they welcome Thomas for a 4:00 p.m. contest. Bay Path will hit the road again on Thursday, as they take on Lesley at 8:00 p.m.