Rochester, N.Y.- Lillian Gillett would tally her third goal of the year as the Clarkson University Women's Soccer team played to a 1-1 tie with the University of Rochester, Saturday evening.
Clarkson remains undefeated through three games early on, moving to 1-0-2. The team returns to action Tuesday night, hosting SUNY Canton at Hantz Field.
Rochester took control of possession early on, creating a few chances to go along with it but not managing any clear-cut attempts. The first real chance of the contest came the way of Clarkson in the 17th minute with Rachel McMonagle picking off a loose touch by a defender on the right wing and feeding a through ball into the center that found Brooke Everest. The midfielder's first attempt was blocked but the ball fell again to the foot of Everest whose second attempt was a tame shot towards the Yellowjacket goalkeeper.
The first real chance for the host came in the 30th minute with Ava Schmidt cutting in off the right wing with her left foot and driving a low shot towards goal that was collected by Isabelle Wood. Just three minutes later, Rochester would come within inches of taking the lead as Delia McMullen chased down a ball over the top of the Golden Knight backline. The forward, one on one with the keeper, managed to poke the ball past Wood but the left post would come to the rescue for Clarkson with the ball rebounding off the inside across the face of goal and away from danger.
With time winding down in the first half, Clarkson would win a corner on the left side. Julia Tylar sent a pass in towards the top of the six yard box which was met by the left foot of Gillett who found the bottom right corner of the net for the first score of the evening.
Rochester would level things less than five minutes into the second half off a set piece of their own. A direct kick from 30 yards out found the head of Remi Cherkas whose initial shot was kept out by Wood but the rebound was tapped in by Femke Laudy for 1-1. With both sides locked at one, the hosts would continue to control a majority of the ball but still remain unable to find the breakthrough with Clarkson threatening on the counter attack. The Yellowjackets would nearly find that breakthrough in the 79th minute following another ball over the defence that seemed to take a harsh bounce right into the path of a Rochester attacker. The shot did not have nearly enough power on it falling right into the hands of Woods in the middle of the goal. Rochester managed to create several more chances within the last 10 minutes of the game but still could not get past the stingy Clarkson defense as both sides were forced to share the spoils upon the final whistle.
Rochester held the advantage in shots (17-4), and shots on goal (9-2) with Clarkson capitalizing on their lone corner kick of the evening. Wood was credited with eight saves in net for the Golden Knights, anchoring a spirited defensive performance, Sydney Moore would make one for the Yellowjackets.
