TEANECK, N.J. – Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart both took home a point on Friday as the teams played to a 0-0 tie and both sit on seven points in the Northeast Conference women's soccer standings.
The Knights and Pioneers played the maximum of 110 minutes as the two goalkeepers kept all 12 shots on goal out.
"I felt we got better as the game went on", said head coach
Eric Teepe postgame. "Sacred Heart put us under a lot of pressure in the thirty minutes and we began to pick up towards the end of the first half."
Fairleigh Dickinson (4-9-1, 2-0-1 NEC) did not allow a goal for the second straight game and withstood sustained pressure in the opening 30 minutes from Sacred Heart (5-4-4, 2-0-1 NEC). The Pioneers got three shots away with that sustained pressure but
Amanda Fitzgerald (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem East) was there to make two saves when needed.
The Knights had a series of chances late in the first half when
Meghan Griffin (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills),
Kristina Neri (San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa) and
Jackson Bennett (Toronto, Ontario/Humberside Collegiate Institute) all had shots but Nicole Sambuco stopped Griffin and Neri while Bennett's shot went high.
The Pioneers were limited to four shots in the second half with Fitzgerald making all three saves when needed. The Knights tested Sambuco multiple times in the second 45 minutes but the sophomore was there each time.
Fairleigh Dickinson thought they had a 1-0 lead in the second half but
Kristina Neri (San Jose, Calif./Santa Teresa) was ruled offside before she put the rebound home off a shot from Bennett in the 54th minute.
The Knights got the lone shot on goal in either of the two overtimes when Griffin tested Sambuco but was denied again.
"We are going to have to step up and find a way. When you tie the game on Friday you put a little bit of pressure to win on Sunday. We have to get a win against a team that is 3-1 to try and catch up to them. I have been really happy with how we have been playing the seven games and hope we can carry that forward."
Bryant awaits Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday afternoon. Game time is set for 1 p.m. up in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
