WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State University and visiting Bridgewater State University played to a 1-1 double overtime tie in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) women's soccer game on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.
The two teams entered and left the match tied in the conference standings. Both schools are 6-4-2 overall and 3-1-1 in MASCAC play.
Westfield struck first, scoring eight minutes into the match when Jenn Renich (Bedford, Mass.) fired a shot from the top of the box that appeared to skid on the wet turf just in front of Bears' goalkeeper Kellie Souza (Wilmington, Mass.), and the ball skipped through the short side hole for a 1-0 Owls lead.
Bridgewater finally equaled the game in the 84th minute, when Alana Vincent (Taunton, Mass.) fired a blast from 20 yards out on the left side that slipped in under the cross bar on the right side. Westfield goalkeeper Natalia Falcone (Sutton, Mass.) had no chance to save the perfectly placed shot.
Rennich had a chance to give the Owls the lead with less than five minutes left in regulation, when her shot from the left side snuck through traffic and hit the far post.
Bridgewater had the best of the scoring chances in the first overtime, outshooting Westfield 5-0 in the frame. Kellsie Mitchell (Bristol, R.I.) hit the post 2:11 into the overtime session.
Westfield held a 3-1 edge in chances in the second ot, the final one coming when Juliana Templeman's (East Longmeadow, Mass.) header was saved by Souza with less than five minutes to play.
The Bears finished with a 12-6 total advantage in shots on goal. Falcone made ten saves for the Owls, and got a defensivestop from sweeper Casey Rotti (Rutland, Mass.) late in regulation. Souza finished with five saves for Bridgewater.
Westfield State will be back in action on Wednesday, October 17 hosting 15th-ranked Brandeis at 4:00 p.m. at Alumni Field. Bridgewater will travel to Keene State on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.