WAUKESHA, Wis. - The Carroll University women's soccer team played to a nail-biting 2-2 tie with high-powered Augustana College after 110 minutes in a cold, rain-soaked double-overtime College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Saturday evening.
It was the second consecutive conference draw for Carroll, which is 0-0-2 in the league standings and 2-5-4 overall following the spirited, marathon battle.
Senior forward/midfielder
Delaney Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) scored on a hard-lining 30-yard free kick from the right side of the field at the 23:01 mark to tie the game 1-1 for the Pioneers, who maintained a 10-5 shot advantage and equaled the Vikings with five shot-on-goal opportunities.
Freshman forward
Erika Hess (Green Bay, Wis.) followed with an unassisted goal in the 29th minute for Carroll.
On the play, Hess took possession of the ball, quickly dribbled downfield weaving past three defenders and fired a shot into the back of the net.
Sophomore midfielders Jenna Dvorak and Karissa Gottardo each scored a goal for Augustana, which is 1-0-2 in conference and 8-1-2 overall.
Junior goalkeeper
Christina O' Block (Libertyville, Ill.) registered three saves in playing the entire 110 minutes for Carroll, which has tied four times this season.
It was a tension-filled battle the entire way, fittingly coming to an end as Augustana's Karleen Gomez fired a slow-rolling shot that hit directly off the front post and was recovered by O' Block with four seconds left in the second extra period.
"Even though it ended in a tie, this game really was the definition of what its like to compete in the CCIW," said Carroll seventh-year head coach Susie Foster, who was honored at midfield by her players following the game for reaching the prestigious 150th career-victory milestone with a 1-0 road-win over St. Norbert College on Sept. 18. "It was very special to see how this group stepped up to the challenge and showcased a real fighter's mentality tonight. From beginning to end, we played with a toughness and grit that we hadn't seen yet this season. I was just super excited to see them bring that to the field.
"Being a really young group, its been very encouraging to watch how we have meshed together, gradually learned that aggressive, mature approach and carried it over to our effort on the field. It's all about being a fighter and a winner. Tonight, we took another step toward that with this performance."
