PRIDE AND SVC PLAY TO 1-1 TIE

PRIDE AND SVC PLAY TO 1-1 TIE

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College and Southern Vermont College played to a 1-1 tie in New England Collegiate Conference women's soccer action on Saturday afternoon in Weston, Mass. The Pride move to 7-2-3 overall and 4-1-2 in the NECC, while Southern Vermont goes to 9-4-2 overall and 3-3-1 in league games.

Regis had an early opportunity to strike first as Tess McLean (West Roxbury, Mass.) came down the left side and crossed the ball into the box to Devinne Aquadro (Sturbridge, Mass.), but the rookie's shot sailed wide of the mark, leaving the score knotted at 0-0. Nearly three minutes later, Regis had its second great chance of the day as Michelle Sirois (Easton, Mass.) played a corner kick into the box that found Kara Donovan's (Woburn, Mass.) head and after being blocked down, Jasmin Vivar (Attleboro, Mass.) laced a shot on net off the rebound that went wide.

The Pride and Mountaineers played to a 0-0 draw through the first 45 minutes as Regis held an 11-3 edge in shots and 3-0 advantage in corner kicks for the period. Southern Vermont's Liz Simonowicz (Chester, Mass.) made three saves in the period, while Rachel Gagnon (Ashford, Conn.) faced only three shots, none of which were on line.

In the second half, Regis' Jackie Rocheville (Salem, Mass.) placed a corner kick into the box that was headed on net by Samantha Salamone (Milford, Mass.) and off the rebound, Kara Donovan tried to tap the ball on an open net, but Simonowicz made a sprawling save at the goal line to preserve the 0-0 tie. With just over 20 minutes remaining, Regis again had an opportunity to take a 1-0 lead but an Adena Joseph (Stoughton, Mass.) header went high.

Just over two minutes later, Southern Vermont's Erin Student (Clifton Park, N.Y.) received a pass from Bridget Kelly (Lebanon, Conn.) at the top of the box and Student lofted the ball high and over the outstretched hands of Gagnon to give the Mountaineers a late 1-0 lead.

With just under eight minutes remaining in regulation, Aquadro fired a rocket on net from 30 yards out that Simonowicz could not handle leading to a rebound attempt for Kristen Abreu (Woburn, Mass.) that rattled off the crossbar. Jasmin Vivar corralled the free ball at the top of the box and blasted the ball to the back of the net to tie the game at 1-all.

Neither team mustered much offense as the game spilled into overtime. The Pride attempted four shots in the first extra frame but none found their mark as it would take an extra 10 minutes to decide the game.

Only two minutes into the second overtime, SVC's Kaitlyn Forant (Hardwick, Vt.) received a through ball from Hannah Pease (Worthington, Mass.) that left her one-on-one with the Regis defender. Forant used a nifty dribble move to her right to gain some space and the junior rocketed the ball on net, but it rattled off the crossbar, leaving the score tied 1-1.

Regis responded on its next possession as Abreu took a through ball into the box and dropped it back to Michelle Sirois at the 18. Sirois tried to go opposite post with her shot attempt, but Simonowicz was there for the stop. With just under two minutes to play, Jasmin Vivar got a shot on net that was again mishandled by the SVC keeper but like it had seemed all day, Joseph's follow up header hit the crossbar, ending the game in a 1-1 draw.

The Pride outshot the Mountaineers at a 34-5 clip and took the only six corner kicks in the game. Rachel Gagnon allowed the one goal without making a save, while Simonowicz turned away 16 shots in the tie.

Regis returns to action on Thursday night when the Pride go on the road to take on Wheelock College in a 7:00 p.m. NECC matchup. The Mountaineers host Bay Path College in a league game on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.