PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- On Thursday afternoon, the second-ranked West Chester University women's soccer team (0-0-1) returned to action for the first time in 2023 against non-league foe Jefferson (0-0-1). West Chester got out to an early lead thanks to a pair of goals by
Kaitlynn Haughey (Philadelphia, Pa./Penn Charter), but Jefferson mounted a furious second-half comeback and withstood a late push by West Chester to earn a 2-2 draw to open season.
After 30 scoreless minutes to open the match, Haughey scored in the 32
nd minute with a perfect header off a
Kylie Kergides (Rydal, Pa./Germantown Academy) to give the Golden Rams the early 1-0 advantage. This lead held up for the first half as West Chester carried a 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.
Haughey wasted little time in opening the second-half scoring, notching her second tally of the year from 20 yards out just over six minutes into the second half, extending the Golden Rams advantage to 2-0 over the host Rams.
Mia Ferrara answered quickly for Jefferson, scoring her first goal of the season off a free kick from distance in the 56
th minute, which cut the deficit in half. The Rams continued their comeback in the next few minutes, applying heavy pressure to the Golden Ram defense with multiple corners before Devin Sullivan broke through in the 60
th minute with a header goal of her own off an Anna Midock free kick, thus evening the score at 2-2.
Immediately following this goal, West Chester took its turn to apply heavy pressure to the Jefferson defense, generating three corners in three minutes before the Rams were able to clear the ball out of harm's way, at least temporarily.
In the 76
th minute, West Chester got back-to-back good looks against the Jefferson keeper, Liv Riddel, but was equal to the task both times, making back-to-back big saves to keep the game even at 2-2.
Faith Matter (Middletown, Pa./Middletown Area) took what would be the final shot on goal of the match in the 82
nd minute, but Riddel made the save once again, eventually earning her side a 2-2 draw against the second-ranked Golden Rams.
West Chester and Jefferson each took nine shots in the game, with the Golden Rams holding a slim 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. Jefferson ended the game with a 9-5 lead in corner kicks, including an 8-2 advantage in the second half of play.
In goal,
Grace Keen (Lincoln University, Pa./Avon Grove) made her collegiate debut and made a pair of stops in the draw, while her counterpart Riddel finished the game with five saves of her own to slow the potent Golden Ram offense.
Up Next:
West Chester returns to action next Wednesday afternoon at Shippensburg beginning at 4 p.m.
