WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior Stasi Torchia netted her first goal of the season to force overtime, resulting in a 1-1 draw for the Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team at Hartford Sunday afternoon.
 
Both teams were held scoreless through the first 75 minutes of action before the Hawks (7-1-1) broke through for the first goal. The Knights (2-6-2) did not take long to strike back, needing only five minutes for Torchia to find the back of the net off a pass from sophomore Sofia Albertsson to even the score.
 
The Knights had a few chances to win it late in the second half and in extra time but could not convert, and the backline of senior Julia Shea, junior Samantha Roff and freshmen Noam Kedem and Christa Waterman helped keep the Hawks from gaining many chances of their own late in the game.
 
FDU ended Hartford's five-game winning streak in the process of earning their second draw of the season.
 
"We still need to create more chances with possessions we have," said head coach Eric Teepe. "With all the injuries, they battled really hard, which is a positive, and we limited their chances."
 
The Knights supplied the early offensive pressure, with junior Jackson Bennett aiming a shot toward goal that the Hawks goalkeeper stopped in the sixth minute.
 
The Hawks responded with their first shot on goal in the 14th minute, and Knights junior goalkeeper Amanda Fitzgerald made a diving save to her right to preserve a scoreless match.
 
Fitzgerald stopped another Hartford shot in the 23rd minute, and the Knights went on the counter, keeping possession on Hartford's half of the field over the next five minutes. Junior Stasi Torchia attempted two corner kicks in that frame, but could not connect for a clean shot on goal.
 
The teams remained scoreless through halftime, and FDU started the second half by controlling possession through the first stretch of the period. Senior Elma Kolenovic ripped a clean shot in the 51st minute, but the ball scooted just wide right of the net. Albertsson also had a look at goal a few minutes later off a feed from Kolenovic, but her shot missed wide to the right as well.
 
Hartford countered with a couple of chances of its own, with Fitzgerald saving a shot headed toward the net. The Hawks continued to press on the attack, and a shot from Ashley Claud in the 76th minute gave the Hawks a 1-0 advantage.
 
FDU quickly countered, with Albertsson weaving through the defense to take a curved shot toward goal from the top of the box, but the Hartford keeper was there for the save.
 
A few minutes later, the Knights were awarded a corner kick, and off Gabby Garcia's feed, the ball was headed out to Albertsson on the wing. The sophomore passed the ball back into the middle, finding Torchia who redirected it past the keeper for the tying goal, making it 1-1 with 10 minutes left.
 
Each team had one more try at goal in regulation, with Kolenovic taking FDU's shot and Fitzgerald saving Hartford's chance in the final minute.
 
Hartford worked quickly in the first overtime to earn its first opportunity at goal, but Fitzgerald punched the shot over the crossbar to keep play alive in extra time. The junior again saved a would-be goal when she slid to stop a shot on a one-on-one chance a couple minutes later.
 
The Knights' best chance of the first overtime came in the 99th minute, when a Garcia corner kick led to a long-distance shot from Kolenovic that sailed high.
 
FDU dominated play in the second overtime, but a corner kick in the final minute did not connect to an attacker in the box, leading to a draw after 110 minutes.
 
"I think it's a positive last five games we're beginning to find ourselves," Teepe said. "We just need to take that final step, finish when we have the opportunities, and we'll see what happens when it gets to conference play."
 
For Torchia, the goal was the third of her career, with her two previous goals occurring in her freshman season. Albertsson picked up her fifth assist of her career and earned her 25th career point in the process.
 
Fitzgerald finished the match with six saves, increasing her career total to 260.
 
The Knights concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule and begin Northeast Conference play next Sunday with a trip to Mount St. Mary's for a 1 p.m. contest.