NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The New England College women's soccer team played to a 2-2 draw against Albertus Magnus on Saturday afternoon, earning a point in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
The Falcons struck early, finding the back of the net just three minutes into the contest to take a 1-0 lead. Albertus Magnus continued to pressure the Pilgrims' defense, but sophomore goalkeeper Estrella Michaelidis (Dedham, Mass.) came up with several saves. The 'Grims pushed for the equalizer as junior Michelina Follis (Saugus, Mass.) put a header on target, only to be denied by Falcons' goalkeeper Liliana Novicki. Just seconds later, freshman Ava Hudson (Springvale, Maine) found the back of the net to even the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.
AMC came out aggressively after the break, testing Michaelidis with a series of shots on goal. The sophomore continued to stand tall in net before the Pilgrims capitalized on an offensive opportunity of their own. Senior Madison Bowman (Coventry, Vt.) connected with junior Abbey Keyes (Dedham, Mass.), who finished the chance to give NEC a 2-1 advantage. The Falcons continued to search for the equalizer and capitalized on a Pilgrims' error in the 76th minute to tie the score at 2-2. Both teams generated opportunities down the stretch, but the goalkeepers came up with timely saves to preserve the draw.
Hudson recorded her fourth goal of the season, while Keyes netted her second. Michaelidis played all 90 minutes in goal for the 'Grims, finishing with 13 saves.
NEC returns to action on Wednesday, October 14th, welcoming the Cadets of Norwich University to Don Melander Field for a 4:00 PM kickoff.
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