Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Ashworth Makes Big Saves in OT to Help Women's Soccer Earn 0-0 Draw with Lehigh
9/26/2014 9:58:00 PM | Women's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Goalkeeper Jessie Ashworth made three of her eight saves in the second overtime period to help the Bucknell women's soccer team come away with a scoreless draw with Lehigh in a Patriot League match Friday night at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium.
Both teams earned a well-deserved point in an evenly played match from start to finish. Bucknell is now 5-5-1 overall and 0-1-1 in the Patriot League, while the Mountain Hawks are 3-2-2 overall, 1-0-1 in the league.
Ashworth made a diving save on a hard, low shot by Laura Courtney with 4:30 left in the second overtime session, and then she reached to her right to punch away a point-blank header by Grace Correll on a corner-kick scrum with just over two minutes to play.
After the Bison breathed a sigh of relief after being rescued by their keeper, they sent another wave of pressure back toward Lehigh, and the Mountain Hawks had to defend two dangerous corner kicks in the final minute of the match.
Lehigh finished with a 17-13 shot advantage, including a 5-3 edge in extra time. Ashworth and counterpart Ani Nahapetian both finished with eight saves, and Lehigh led 9-7 in corner kicks.
Neither team generated a quality scoring opportunity in the first half, but things opened up a bit in the second. Bucknell's best chance of the night came in the 62nd minute, when Meghan Holtz beat a defender along the end line and centered a pass to Brigit Falcón inside the six-yard box. Falcón's re-direct was right at a well-positioned Nahapetian, however.
Just over two minutes later Lehigh's Madeline Walsh had the ball on her foot deep inside the Bison penalty area, but Ashworth pounded off her line to smother the shot. With 1:20 left in regulation, Adrian Vitello sent a close-range volley right into the mitts of Ashworth.
"Neither goalkeeper deserved to lose tonight," said head coach Ben Landis after the draw. "We wish we would have tested their keeper more. At times we looked really good, but we are having a tough time generating goals right now. It's a credit to the Patriot League that the play has elevated so much, where it takes something special to win a game. Games change when a goal is scored, and without a goal tonight the game never changed. You had two teams with contrasting styles going at each other."
Bucknell has a non-league match -- its last one of the season -- on Sunday at Saint Francis (Pa.) before heading to Loyola for its next Patriot League contest on Wednesday night.
