Women's Soccer | 9/27/2012 6:36:00 PM

Box Score

MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Western Oregon women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw against Seattle Pacific in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference match on Thursday as the Wolves picked up their first point against the Falcons since the 2002 season. With the draw, WOU improves to 3-5-1 overall, 1-3-1 in league play, while SPU moves to 5-2-2 overall, 2-1-2 in conference play.

“I thought we came out and really fought hard from the start of the match,” head coach Steve Ancheta said. “We managed to make some things difficult for SPU and I really thought the team did a great job of sticking to our plan. We really would have liked to have the win; but, to pick up a point against such a strong opponent is a quality result.”

After a scoreless first half, WOU nearly took the lead in the 50th minute as a cross into the box found JoEllen DeLeon. The sophomore headed the ball past the Seattle Pacific keeper; however, it was cleared off the line by the Falcon defense as the game remained scoreless.

Play remained even throughout the second half until the Falcons managed to find the back of the net in the 82nd minute to give SPU a late 1-0 lead. A corner kick from Alexa Diaz found Shayla Page as she headed the ball into the upper left-hand corner of the net for the first goal of the contest.

Despite trailing late in the game, WOU managed to tie the match in the 87th minute when Marina Austin collected a pass on the left side of the field and looked to connect with a WOU player with a cross into the box. As SPU rushed back to defend, a member of the Falcon back-line slid to try and send the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. Her clearance, however, found the back of the net as the Wolves tied the game on the SPU own goal.

The contest headed into overtime as each team was unable to find the back of the net for the winner. The result gave the Wolves their first point against the Falcons since a 3-1 victory over SPU during the 2002 season.

Both teams had quality chances throughout the contest as the Wolves ended with a slight edge in shots, 19-16, while corner kicks were even at 4-4. Austin led WOU with four shots, including two on goal, as Megan Lindsey had four shots to lead SPU.

Hillary Lutz made a career-high seven stops in net for WOU while Natalie Harold made five saves in the draw for SPU.

WOU will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 29, as the Wolves host Central Washington at 1:00 p.m.