The Mount Ida College women's soccer team fought back from a first half 2-0 deficit to tie visiting Curry College 2-2 in double overtime non-conference action this Thursday in Newton, Massachusetts. The Mustangs hold a 1-1-1 overall record while the Colonels remain unbeaten so far this season at 3-0-1 while either team has yet to play a conference contest.
The Mustangs had a very good chance to get on the board early in the 7th minute of the contest. Colonel goalkeeper Samantha Hardy (Pepperell, MA/North Middlesex Regional) was caught out of position on the right side of the box while a deflected ball landed at the feet of Mustang senior captain Katie Lorenco (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester). Lorenco had a quick opening to fire a shot at the back post but ended up hitting it directly back at the goalkeeper.
Curry responded three minutes later with their first goal of the game on a breakaway that was deflected off a Mount Ida defender to the foot of Colonel senior forward Ashley Hansbury (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford). Hansbury took advantage of the lucky bounce and tucked a shot into the corner of the net for the 1-0 lead early in the first half.
In the 29th minute, the visitors found the net again on a bang-bang play for their second goal of the game and the 2-0 lead. Senior Brook DeLuca (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) slid a pass to junior Laura Lydon (Riverside, RI/East Providence Senior) who was wide open hammering a shot into the nylon for the 2-0 advantage. The teams headed into the locker room with all the momentum in favor of the Colonels.
The second half was a whole different story shifting the energy to the Mustangs who capitalized in dramatic fashion. Junior captain Lindsay Lincoln (Clarksburg, MA/Drury) lined up a direct kick and fired it towards the net. Freshman Heather Harrington (Bedford, NH/Manchester West) flicked the ensuing pass towards the left corner and past the keeper for Mount Ida's first score of the contest trailing 2-1 in the 68th minute.
Three minutes later, the Mustangs knotted the score on an outstanding shot by freshman Jamie Labrie (Southampton, MA/Hampshire Regional) on a bounding ball at the right side of the 18 yard box fed by Lorenco making it 2-2. Mount Ida freshman Elena Ooms (Valatie, New York/Ichabod Crane) had the only legitimate chance to win the game for the Mustangs in the 81st minute. Ooms had a ball land at her feet in front of the net and immediately pounded a shot towards the goal. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, it was directly at Hardy who denied the chance.
The score was now 2-2 with neither team having any shot to take over the lead before regulation time would expire. The overtimes were quiet with both squads looking extremely tired. The horn eventually sounded 20 minutes later to end the game in a 2-2 tie.
Mustang keeper Meghan Begins (Jericho, VT/Jericho) kept her team alive with a handful of outstanding point blank saves ultimately notching 12 for the game. Mount Ida junior captain Becky Tisbert (Cambridge, VT/Lamoille Union) started the game upfront but was eventually moved back to sweeper in the second half. This move by Head Coach Joe Campbell was a smart one keeping Curry's best player out of the offensive threat and giving the Mustangs a better chance to cut down the opposing offense.
The Colonels split time in net with Hardy seeing the entire first half denying five shots. Curry sophomore keeper Julia Tinetti (New Haven, CT/Cheshire Academy) started the second half but only was able to get 27 minutes of action due to an injury after Mount Ida's second score saving two shots. Hardy saw the entire overtime.
The Mustangs will stay home and host their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up against Emerson College starting at 2:15 p.m. The Colonels will also have their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) game hosting Western New England College this Saturday at 5:00 p.m.