WALTHAM, MA – The University of Rochester women's soccer team scored two goals in the final 20 minutes to rally from a two-goal deficit, salvaging a 2-2 draw at Brandeis University on Saturday afternoon at Gordon Field.
Rochester, ranked #16 in the latest Division III coaches poll, moves to 8-1-4 on the season and 0-1-2 in University Athletic Association play. Brandeis picks up its first conference point with the draw, moving to 0-2-1 in the conference and 7-4-2 overall on the season.
The Yellowjackets goals came from
Sydney Holmes in the 73rd minute and
Remi Cherkas in the 84th minute.
Brandeis scored just 91 seconds into the match, with Zareena Mann finding the net, and later boosted its lead in the 69th minute behind a score from Tanvi Raju.
Mann's early tally came on the first shot of the contest following a pair of Judges corners in the opening minutes. Ella Kauffmann sent the corner into the box where Kira Pevow headed the ball towards the net. In traffic, the ball found the foot of Mann for the volley into the right corner of the net.
URochester's
Natalie Santangelo fired the first 'Jacket shot on goal just after the three-minute mark, with Brandeis keeper Amaya Logan scooping up the right wing shot from ten yards.
Two minutes later, a transition opportunity saw the Yellowjackets earn another two good chances to equalize. A back pass saw a hard shot by
Claudia Ferreira get blocked, with the rebound attempt in front by Holmes getting corralled by Logan.
Holmes had another look in the ninth minute, with her left wing shot sneaking through several bodies in the box, but Logan came up with a diving save, keeping the 'Jackets off the scoreboard.
In the 24th minute, URochester keeper
Eleni McGuire made a great save on Moira Koleno, keeping it a 1-0 Judges lead. Koleno was able to pounce on a loose ball in the midfield, outrun a pair of 'Jacket defenders and fire an open shot from 15 yards, but McGuire came off her line and made the stop.
Late in the half, McGuire made a similar stop on Grace Carman, after the Brandeis attacker split two Yellowjackets and tried to poke a shot from 12 yards into the net.
After decent chances in the opening 15 minutes of the second half on both sides, the Judges doubled the lead in the 69th minute after Raju caught the 'Jacket defense up too high and slotted a right wing shot into the low left corner of the net.
Brandeis' Carman picked up the assist on the transition goal, sending a through ball up the right side to Raju who timed her run up perfect and found the net with a shot from just inside the box.
Four minutes later, the Yellowjackets comeback started with Holmes tallying her fourth of the season off passes from
Eileen Harvey and
Madeline Waffner.
The play started back in the midfield by Harvey who pinpointed her pass through the defense to Waffner charging up the right side. The UR first-year one-touched the ball and then sent a skidding cross from the edge of the box to the far post where Holmes snuck in behind the defense and found the upper left corner of the net.
UR kept applying the pressure over the next few minutes, looking for the equalizer.
Cherkas' tying goal came at 83:08 off a short corner setup by Santangelo. Following a save on a shot by Ferreira, Holmes took the corner to start things, finding Santangelo near the left sideline.
Santangelo juked a defender and sent the ball towards the right post where Cherkas got a head on it and bounded it down hard towards the ground, with the ball caroming off Logan and into the net.
Looking to complete the comeback with a victory, Rochester continued its attack in the final two minutes with three shots and two corners, but was unable to notch the game-winning goal.
Femke Laudy had the best chance, with a one-touch shot off a cross from Waffner, but Logan was able to make the point-blank save to preserve the tie.
Rochester used a dominant second half to take a 23-9 lead in shots for the contest, also earning 70-percent of the corners, leading seven to three in that category. Logan finished with eight saves for Brandeis, while McGuire played all 90 minutes and stopped five Brandeis shots.
Next weekend, the Yellowjackets head to the Midwest where they will take on top-ranked WashU on Friday evening and 13th-ranked Chicago on Sunday afternoon.
