The Ashland University women's soccer team held No. 3 Grand Valley State off the board and earned a scoreless tie on Sunday (Sept. 16) afternoon in nonconference action at Ferguson Field.
The draw snapped Ashland's 17-game losing streak to the Lakers (5-0-1). The Eagles (5-0-2) last picked up a result against the Lakers in 2005 – a 1-0 win.
Grand Valley State had the better of the ball and the chances in the first half, out-shooting the Eagles by an 8-0 margin.
Sophomore keeper Hannah Lee was decisive in the box, making three saves in the first half and making precise decisions on crosses and balls played into the box.
After a scoreless first half, the Eagles looked more dangerous in the second half as they were able to gain more possession and keep in the GVSU end for long spurts of time.
AU had chances to get a goal, winning three corner kicks in the game. A few times Ashland got behind the Lakers' defense and redshirt-junior Deijah Swihart had a couple shots in the second half after a set piece opportunity, but GVSU keeper Jessica Radice made two saves in the game.
In the first overtime, the Lakers missed two chances to win the game in the same sequence with a shot that went off the post and a follow-up that hit the underside of the crossbar, but just stayed out of the goal.
Overall, the Lakers held a 21-8 advantage in shots and a 12-3 lead in corner kicks.
Lee had six saves in the game, but was removed in the second half because of injury. Sophomore Abby Lampe came on after that and made four stops as the goalkeeping duo combined on the clean sheet.
The Eagles were excellent in the back as the combination of freshmen Abby Siefert and Tori Baker, redshirt-junior Sydney Wright and sophomore Rylie Howman eliminated chances for the Lakers.
Sydney O'Donnell and Ava Cook led the Lakers with four shots each.
The Eagles will continue their five-game homestand on Friday (Sept. 21) when they open GLIAC play against UW-Parkside.
AU
WSOC/BB
