TERRE HAUTE, IND. – After a fiery 110-minute competition, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw in double overtime with visiting Marian University (Ind.) Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field.
Sophomore Hayley Gilliam's (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) goal in the 57th minute knotted the game at 1-all and would eventually force the overtime. Senior Rachel Johnstone (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) provided a major spark off the bench to provide the assist on the play, sending a perfect cross to a wide-open Gilliam, who put the ball past Marian goalkeeper Sarah Patterson with 32 minutes left in regulation.
Rose-Hulman (1-1-1, 0-0 Heartland Athletic Conference) had several scoring opportunities in the final two extra periods, as senior forward Nicky Wheeler (Avon, Ind./Avon) created three breakaway scoring chances late. But the Marian defense was able to hold on down the stretch to force the draw.
The Knights (2-2-1) scored the first goal of the match off a corner kick play in the 17th minute when Kelsey Pauley delivered a ball from the left side to the box. Teammate Tawni Trickey deflected the kick to a wide-open Savanna Bunn, who fired a point-blank shot to the back of the net to give Marian a 1-0 lead at the half.
Rose-Hulman sophomore goalkeeper Lucinda Combs (Danville, Ky./Boyle County) tallied eight saves in the contest, including several key stops in the second half and overtime periods.
The contest was the fourth straight overtime contest between the two teams since 2009.
The Fightin' Engineers return to play Wednesday, Sept. 11, when they play host to Greenville at the Intramural Field. Match time is set for 5:30 p.m.
