NEW LONDON, Conn. — Neither side could put in a winning tally through 20 extra minutes Monday afternoon as Southern Vermont College played to a 2-2 tie at Mitchell College in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's soccer action.
Mountaineer freshman Molly Madore (Higganum, Conn.) continued her stellar rookie season, notching both of SVC's goals to total 12 so far on the year; that ties the program mark for fifth best in a single campaign and gives her 30 overall points, also fifth best in Southern Vermont women's soccer history. She has scored at least one goal in each of the Mountaineers' last five games (10 total), helping them go undefeated (4-0-1) through that stretch.
Southern Vermont moves to 7-4-1 on the year, 3-0-1 in NECC play, and next turns to a Saturday home Conference match against Elms College (1 p.m.). SVC is now 3-0-1 in its last four meetings with the Mariners.
Mitchell jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the third minute on a finish from Taylor Silva (Hartford, Conn.). The play started when teammate Alexandra Mahar (Watertown, Conn.) ripped a shot on frame that was saved by SVC sophomore keeper Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.). However, Silva collected the rebound from Mahar's strike and netted her first goal of the season to give the Mariners the early advantage.
Southern Vermont evened the game in the 27th minute when freshman Ally McNamee (Freehold, N.J.) collected her own rebound following a shot on goal and fed a pass to Madore who finished her strike for the equalizer. Junior Lauren Nesshoever (Chittenden, Vt.) nearly gave the Mountaineers the lead in the 42nd minute when she drilled a shot off the crossbar, but the teams went into the halftime break tied at 1-1.
Southern Vermont claimed a 2-1 advantage in the 56th minute on Madore's second goal of the game. Nesshoever serviced a through ball up the middle of the field that gave Madore a one-on-one chance with the keeper, and she directed her shot into the lower right side of the goal.
Mitchell answered in the 63rd minute with a goal from Vannessa Ortiz (Antioch, Calif.) to even the match at 2-2. Mahar sent a ball over the top of the SVC backline to Ortiz who fired from the top of the 18-yard box and buried her third goal of the season inside the far post.
The Mountaineers produced quality scoring chances in the late stages of regulation but could not finish. Nesshoever nailed the crossbar and Madore rattled a shot off of the post in the final 10 minutes before the match was sent to overtime.
SVC freshman Naya Cerda (West Islip, N.Y.) nearly notched the game winner in the 95th minute when her shot dinged off the post. In the second overtime stanza, the Mariners pushed numbers forward in the 108th minute and had their best look at a game winner when Nicole Bergeron (Sandwich, Mass.) settled a feed from Mahar but placed her shot high.
Senior goalkeeper Katie McBride (Birmingham, England) finished with three saves for Mitchell while Mascari recorded three saves through her 110 minutes in goal.