HARRISONBURG, Va. — Averett University women's soccer played out a stalemate in conference play against Eastern Mennonite University, 1-1.
Averett (4-8-3, 3-5-1 ODAC) visited Old Dominion Athletic Conference foes Eastern Mennonite (2-13-2, 0-7-1 ODAC) in a pivotal game for the Cougars' postseason aspirations.
The Royals jumped out to an early advantage after a back and forth run of play to open the game, as Eastern Mennonite capitalized on a corner kick opportunity to secure a 1-0 lead that would carry into the halftime break.
Backs against the wall, the Cougars needed to mount a response to keep their season going. Averett responded by outshooting their hosts, 13-2, in the second half, and 27-7 overall. In spite of the massive shot disparity, the Cougars trailed late in the contest, until freshman
Abigail Poole found the net in the 67th minute. Freshly checked into the game, Poole laced a shot from just outside the box to answer Averett's prayers. A pass from sophomore midfielder
Hailey Juhasz set Poole into a pocket of space behind the Royals' defense, and the freshman delivered the equalizer brilliantly into the top corner of the goal.
The Cougars made a frenzied effort to pull ahead of Eastern Mennonite after grabbing the tying goal, throwing nine shots at the Royals' keeper in the final 20 minutes of play alone. The home side's defense held against the valiant attack, and the final whistle sounded with a 1-1 score.
As for the Averett defense, sophomore
Tiia Chrons logged three saves against four shots on goal while the experienced back line of graduate student
Clarice Peters, seniors
Candace Johnson and
Raylei Smith, and junior
Lucia Sanchez kept the flow of play in the Cougars' offensive zone.
One game remains on the schedule for the Averett women's soccer season. The Cougars travel south to face off against Guilford College at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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