Oct. 8, 2010
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA - Jess Hopton scored her first collegiate goal and Leigh Gray notched an equalizer with less than four minutes left to send La Salle Women's Soccer's match with the visiting Fordham Rams into overtime. Despite a barrage of shots in the extra sessions, the Explorers could not get the game winner in a 2-2 double overtime tie in Atlantic 10 Conference action Friday night at McCarthy Stadium.
With just over four minutes left to play in the second half, Gray took a pass from Heather Steadman and beat Fordham goalie Sarah Zieman for the game-tying goal at the 86:02 mark. It was Steadman's 16th career assist at La Salle, which is good for seventh at the school.
In the first extra session, La Salle registered the only two shots, as both Courtney Niemiec and Anna Dolhansky, each had shots which were inches short of ending the game. Niemiec hit the cross bar with her shot at 96:31, while Dolhansky hit the near post on a shot from the left side at 98:39.
In the game's last 10 minutes, the Explorers fired five shots at the Rams, four of which were on net. However, Zieman came up with four of her 10 saves in the period and preserved the tie for her side. La Salle's Gabby Pakhtigian made eight saves, while each team also benefitted from a team save.
Fordham (5-7-1, 1-1-1 A-10) peppered the Explorer net with four shots on goal through the first 19 minutes. It took a shot off a Michelle Ancelj rebounded shot to get their first goal, as Annie Worden scored her first of the year at 19:09 when Pakhtigian could not control the first shot.
Jess Hopton would tie the score at 1-1 just eight minutes later (27:24) when she took a pass from Renee Washington and beat Zieman to the lower right. For Hopton, it was her first collegiate goal, while Washington adds her third assist of the season.
Katie McDermott would put the Rams up again at the 54:47 mark with her third tally of the year off an assist from Michaela Murphy. The team had several chances to add to its lead, but Pakhtigian made three stops after that goal to keep the Explorers down just one.
La Salle (6-6-1, 0-2-1 A-10) improved to 2-0-2 this season in overtime games and will now be off the rest of the weekend. The Explorers return to action next Friday with a match at St. Bonaventure with a 3 PM kickoff.
