Springfield, MA --- Emily Doherty (Shrewsbury, MA) tallied her conference leading 12th goal on a penalty kick as the WPI women's soccer team claimed a valuable road point with a 1-1 draw at regionally-ranked Springfield on Saturday afternoon.  

WPI, who has played a school record nine overtime matches this season, including in eight of its last ten outings, is 6-6-4 and 3-2-3 in league play. Springfield, ranked eighth in the initial NCAA Division III New England poll, ran its unbeaten streak to seven games and now stands at 9-3-3 overall and 6-1-2 in the NEWMAC. 

The Pride finished the contest with 17 shots to WPI's eight, while Springfield also held an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Lucy Gillett (Rockville Center, NY) posted four saves in the game, while counterpart Abbey Teliska (LaGrangeville, NY) finished with six of her own. 

Just 6:50 into the game, junior forward Nicole Fowler (Maynard, MA) broke down the left side of the field and lofted a ball to Krissy Cicalis (Bridgewater, MA) in the WPI box, who then fired a shot at the net. After the attempt hit the left post, the rebound bounced right to Dakota Kelly (Bethan, CT) who blasted a shot past Teliska to give the Pride a 1-0 advantage.  It was the freshman's third goal of 2014. 

About 10 minutes later, WPI's Emma Turton (Mechanic Falls, ME) beat a pair of SC defenders and was taken down inside the box. Doherty capitalized on the opportunity to even the game at one goal apiece when she drilled her 19th career marker on the PK at 15:18. 

With 21:26 remaining in the contest, Fowler gained control of the ball at midfield and sent a beautiful ball in behind the WPI defense to junior forward Jessica Miller (Southbury, CT). After Miller caught up to the ball, she took one touch towards the goal, but Teliska was able to dive on top of the loose ball before Miller could unleash a shot. 

In the closing seconds of regulation, WPI's Megan Hanshaw (Simsbury, CT) sent in a corner kick that went to classmate Susannah Gray (York, ME), who headed the ball towards the Springfield goal, however, the ball deflected off the crossbar as the clock struck zero. 

The two teams battled back-and-forth for the remainder of the game and could not take advantage of their opportunities as the game ended in a 1-1 draw. 

Springfield will return to Brock-Affleck Field on Tuesday night when it hosts Simmons in a non-conference tilt, while WPI will hit the road and head down Park Ave. to take on city rival Clark on Tuesday at 6pm.

Portions of Release Courtesy Sportsfield Sports Information

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