Boston, MA- The Women's Soccer team was happy to end the losing streak this afternoon at the Winsor School as they earned a gritty hard fought tie in double overtime as they played host to the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons were aggressive out of the gate, earning the first eight shots of the contest, including three from junior Grace Roach (Hutchinson, MN), testing BSC keeper Madison Perez right from the start. Six of the eight shots were on goal, but the Falcons were left off the scoreboard. Falcons defenders also held BSC to just one shot through the 40th minute, but it was the Bobcats who finished strong right before halftime, testing FC's keeper, Olivia Handy (La Verne, CA) with three shots on goal before the break. Handy continued her strong play between the pipes, stopping all three shots she faced to keep it a 0-0 affair after one half of play.
Both teams were eager to get on the board as the offense kicked it up a notch out of the break as each team had two scoring chances less than ten minutes into the second half, but again each goalie held on to the shutout. It wasn't until the 57th minute that a pass from the back of the Bobcats defense landed at the feet of Najah Thomas who manuevered her way around a pair of Falcons defenders to get free and blast one by the diving Handy to put BSC up 1-0. The Falcons tied it up less than 10 minutes later though after Roach crossed a corner kick across the front of the net for freshman Kassie Lima (Boston, MA), who popped a hard shot off of a Bobcats defender. Roach followed up a shot of her own that got the hands of a BSC defender in the box for a penalty kick. Roach drove it passed the diving Perez at the right hand corner of the net to tie the game at one goal a piece.
Carla DaSilva (Somerville, MA) had a chance for the game winner in the 82nd minute, but could not finish. Handy added two shots of her own, to go along with a pair of saves in the last minutes of regulation and the two teams headed to OT. The Bobcats looked to end it less than a minute in when Hailey Dunsmore got free for a shot, but again Handy made a spectacular save to keep it tied. Roach answered with a pair of shots of her own but Perez kept her team in it and the two teams would head to double OT.
Each team had a terrific scoring opportunity in the last OT, with Roach crushing a shot from the right side of the goal, but it smacked the crossbar. BSC's opportunity came when Dunsmore again got free to her right, but Handy made another diving stop with just 15 seconds left to play. The ball went out of bounds on the stop earning the Bobcats a corner, but there was not enough time to get off a cross and the two teams would settle for a 1-1 tie.
Roach was the spark on the offensive side of the ball for the Falcons, tallying nine shots (7 on goal) and collected her third goal of the season. Handy was outstanding in goal, nabbing 11 saves on 12 shots, while also finishing second on the team in shots with six. Perez was also strong for the Bobcats, making 13 saves in the double overtime effort.
The Falcons are back at it tomorrow as they play host to the Word of Life Bible Institute, with the game slated for a 6pm start.