EMMITSBURG, Md. – The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team opened Northeast Conference play with a 1-1 draw after two overtimes at Mount St. Mary's Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights (2-6-3, 0-0-1 NEC) scored first to take the lead, with sophomore Sofia Albertsson netting her second goal of the season in the 25th minute. FDU maintained their lead into halftime, but the Mountaineers (1-6-2, 0-0-1 NEC) tied the game a few minutes into the second half.
 
FDU tried for the go-ahead goal with a flurry of attempts late in the second half and overtime periods, but the match ended in a stalemate.
 
"I think the first 60 -70 minutes, we played how they wanted and we allowed them to have some opportunities," said head coach Eric Teepe after the match. "We have to do a better job after scoring goals of finding the next one instead of giving up the game.
 
The Knights held steady on defense to start the game and earned their first chance at goal in the 22nd minute when Albertsson played a through ball across the middle to senior Elma Kolenovic. Kolenovic quickly fired a shot, but it missed wide to the right.
 
FDU kept the pressure up offensively, with sophomore Viktorija Miseljic winning a ball off a Mount St. Mary's goal kick and passing outside to Albertsson. Albertsson then touched one time to her right and launched a shot from 20 yards that found the net just inside the post, providing the Knights a 1-0 lead.
 
Junior goalkeeper Amanda Fitzgerald saved a shot off a Mountaineer counter push a few minutes later, and the FDU defense limited the Mountaineers to only one more shot on goal, a free kick in the closing minutes that Fitzgerald grabbed for the save.
 
FDU controlled the offensive flow of the game for the rest of the half, taking five more shots in the half and keeping the ball on the attacking half for a majority of the period.
 
Mount, however, scored its first goal off a free kick in the opening minutes of the second half to even the game at 1-1.
 
The defense for the Knights rebounded as the Mountaineers continued to test the Knights, with Fitzgerald saving two more Mount tries at goal through 60 minutes.
 
Sophomore Andrea Garcia attempted to put the Knights ahead in the 66th minute with a shot on target, but the Mount goalkeeper stopped the shot to keep it tied at 1-1. Albertsson also took aim at a shot a few minutes later, but her strike went wide of the net.
 
The FDU defense prevented the Mountaineers from taking any further shots at goal until the closing seconds of the half. The Knights, however, could not find the back of the net on their tries either, forcing the match into overtime.
 
The Knights dominated play for both of the ensuing overtime periods, limiting the Mountaineers to only one shot in the extra time. Freshman Noam Kedem tried for a golden goal a couple of minutes into the first overtime, but her shot toward goal was saved.
 
Kolenovic and junior Stasi Torchia each had looks at goal in the first period as well but were unable to finish.
 
The Knights took all three shots in the second overtime as well, but none of the shots found the back of the net, resulting in a draw after 110 minutes.
 
"It's a frustrating day," Teepe said. "We had chances to win at the end, but the end result was what we deserved. We have to find ways to win."
 
Fitzgerald finished the match with five saves. For Albertsson, the score was the 11th of her career and provides her with 27 career points.
 
The Knights return to action Friday when they travel to Central Connecticut State for a 6 p.m. contest.