QUINCY, Mass. – The Eastern Nazarene women's soccer team battled back from an early two-goal deficit to tie Wentworth 3-3 Tuesday evening under the lights of Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Lions move to 9-6-1 overall and 2-4-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Leopards progress to 5-8-3 on the year and 3-3-1 in league play with the draw.
The Leopards raced out to a 2-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game as Amanda Weinberger (Colchester, Conn.) netted a pair of goals in the third minute.
She tallied her seventh of the season to put the visitors on the board, knocking in a rebound of a Olivia Moore (Salem, Conn.) shot. Weinberger scored her second of the game and just nine seconds later to double Wentworth's lead.
Eastern Nazarene cut the deficit in half, 2-1, in the sixth minute. Junior Maleesa Santos (Colonie, N.Y.) buried her second goal of the year for the home team. Santos' free kick delivery bounced inside the penalty box before sailing over the goalkeeper's outstretched hands and in under the crossbar.
The Lions sported a 14-4 advantage in shots and 2-1 edge in corner kicks earned at the midway point of the contest.
Wentworth tacked on its third score of the evening in the 48th minute as Mykaela Scarpace (Marlborough, Conn.) volleyed her second goal of the season into the back of the net from beyond the penalty area.
Eastern Nazarene responded with a goal in the 55th minute to narrow the margin to 3-2. Hannah Scahill (Quaker Hill, Conn.) slotted home her team-leading 11th tally of the year, firing a shot into the right corner of the cage. Katherine Lawrence (Marlborough, Conn.) picked up an assist on the goal after setting up Scahill for the score.
The Lions leveled the match at 3-3 in the 80th minute on Santos' second goal of the game and third of the 2013 campaign. The junior rifled a free kick into the left side of the net from just inside the visitors' half of the pitch.
Eastern Nazarene nearly potted the go-ahead goal minutes later as Lawrence drilled a shot off of the underside of the crossbar but the ball bounced on the goal line and stayed out of the cage.
The two teams remained tied at the conclusion of regulation, sending the contest into overtime and marking the second-straight overtime match for the Lions.
Eastern Nazarene held a 26-9 gap in shots through 90 minutes of action and a 4-2 lead in corner kicks.
Neither team found the back of the net in the extra sessions as both squads registered two shots in overtime.
Senior Lara Collier (Boylston, N.Y.) recorded a pair of saves in her second start of the season between the pipes for the Lions. Nicole Leahey (Warwick, R.I.) stopped seven shots in goal for the Leopards, logging 90 minutes on the night. Miranda Stuckey (Lafayette, Ind.) came on at the start of overtime and turned aside two shots between the posts for Wentworth.
Both teams return to action on Saturday for their final regular-season road contest of the season. Eastern Nazarene is at Nichols while Wentworth travels to Salve Regina.
(Recap Courtesy of Eastern Nazarene Sports Information)
