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The Massachusetts women’s soccer team couldn’t pull out a win after a tense matchup against Saint Joseph’s that ended in a 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon. The draw broke the Minutewomen’s (9-3-2, 4-1-1 A-10) dominant run of four straight wins.
Coming out of the first half, the Minutewomen and Hawks were tied 1-1, with UMass in control for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
After a 45-minute scoring drought by UMass, it gained a 2-1 lead on the Hawks (4-3-6, 0-1-4 A-10) on a penalty kick in the 57th minute, after a handball on St. Joe’s inside the 18-yard box.
UMass’ senior midfielder Bella Recinos took the penalty kick, which at the time felt like a major opportunity for the Minutewomen. On a one-on-one faceoff with Hawks goalkeeper Katie Cappelletti, Recinos sent the ball hard on the ground to the bottom right quadrant of the goal just past the diving reach of Cappelletti.
“I think that we were creating a lot [momentum] already to that point, so [the penalty kick] was kind of just the culmination of our ability to create chances,” head coach Jason Dowiak said.
The penalty kick added to Recinos growing total of eight goals this season. It was also UMass’ first penalty kick attempt this season.
Despite the boost provided by the penalty kick, the Minutewomen couldn’t hold onto the lead for long.
In the 68th minute, St. Joe’s responded to the penalty kick by knotting the game at 2-2. After receiving a pass and navigating through traffic, the Hawks’ Natalie Nevins powered a shot to the back of the net.
“I thought we did a better job of finding those opportunities in the second half, but again we [got to] finish games off before teams can get back into them,” Dowiak said. “We didn’t reward ourselves frequently enough… we’re just killing ourselves with the bad goals we are giving away.”
The Minutewomen picked up right where they left off from their win against George Washington by kicking off the scoring in the 11th minute.
UMass’ senior midfielder Emma Pedolzky threw the ball in and after bouncing off a St. Joe’s player, she found herself back in possession of the ball. Despite the 18-yard box being crowded, Pedolzky maneuvered her way to the goal and fired a shot across the box to record the Minutewomen’s first goal of the day.
The Hawks crushed the early momentum gained by the Minutewomen by tying it up a mere 51 seconds later. St. Joe’s Jayda Shehadi sent a pass that led Emily Hanrahan towards the goal. Just outside the 6-yard box, she sent a rocket that ricocheted off the hands of UMass’ goalkeeper Bella Mendoza.
As the second half progressed, there was a noticeable uptick in the physicality of the game, heightening the emotions on both sides. UMass received 14 penalties and Saint Joseph received 18, with many coming in the second half.
“I think it was very difficult to find control… [controlling penalties] was something that we’ve got to be better at in managing… and being a lot more mature on the field,” Dowiak said.
Putting this draw behind them, the Minutewomen will return home to Rudd Field next Sunday, Oct. 6 to face Dayton at 1 p.m.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected]
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