ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry University women's soccer team found itself holding a late second half lead on Friday evening at Wilford Moore Stadium, but would ultimately settle for a 2-2 draw against Piedmont College.
McMurry (4-0-4) fired off a season-high 29 shots in the tie, while Piedmont College (5-3-1) kept things competitive with 15 on their side. Out of the 29 shots for the War Hawks, 15 were shots on goal.
Despite McMurry maintaining possession on their attacking end for most of the early portion, it was the Lions who would strike first on a deep set piece from Katelyn Smith. Smith launched a kick of over 30 yards just under the cross bar for the score.
The Maroon and White immediately evened the score coming out of the intermission, as freshman Alyssa Daily capitalized on a mistake from the goalkeeper to return the shot to sender just three minutes into the second half.
McMurry took the lead on a similar play just moments later, as junior Sky Reynolds lined one through in the 53rd minute. The goal sent the Abilene faithful into a frenzy, as the War Hawks had all momentum.
Piedmont College would re-tie the contest in the 64th minute with another deep set piece from Katelyn Smith, this time from closer to 40 yards out, to force overtime.
The Lions produced five overtime shots to McMurry's three, but both teams had close opportunities at golden goals through the 20 overtime minutes. Each team had two overtime saves, including one each from Cindy Villasana and Jordan Gregory for McMurry.
Villasana totaled 100 minutes on the evening, racking up three saves. Gregory saved the only shot she faced in 10 minutes of overtime.
Reynolds and Daily combined to match the entire Piedmont College team's total of 15 shots. The duo also put nine shots on target, while Ashland Hansen put the pressure on with four shots and two shots on frame.
With the tie, McMurry remains undefeated at 4-0-4 on the season.
The War Hawks will hit the road for their final nonconference matchup on Sunday, Sept. 22 at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
