Late Penalty Kick Gives Pirates 1-1 Draw

Date: October 9, 2017

By: Bob Towey

The Seton Hall Pirates women's soccer team (0-8-5) tied the Creighton Bluejays (2-9-3), 1-1, at Owen T. Carroll field on Sunday afternoon.

The first half of Sunday's contest played out evenly for the first 30 minutes. Creighton got on the board in the 32nd minute from a goal by Jaylin Bosak. The Bluejays attacked the box, and Hall goalie Anna MacLean moved out to collect a shot. However, she could not snag the ball in time, and with MacLean out of position, Bosak gathered the rebound and roofed it into the open net for a 1-0 lead. Shortly after, Pirates head coach Rick Stainton made the decision to remove MacLean and replace her with Laura Dramis.

"Obviously, Anna started as our primary goalkeeper, and there's just been some easy ones that have been coming in, and we're trying to help her stay focused and in tune," Stainton said. "Dramis has been pretty good the past couple games, and the reason Dramis didn't start was because she's battling a little injury. Otherwise, we probably would've started with her, too."

(Photo: SHU Athletics)

That goal marked the only scoring in the first half. Overall, the Pirates had minimal opportunities to score and only recorded one shot on goal because of Creighton's stifling defense. They entered the final 45 minutes of regulation ready to attack and bring the match back within reach.

The second half saw a much more aggressive Pirate team, and Seton Hall found ways to occupy the Bluejays' attacking third and generate chances. Despite the Pirates' reenergized play, it seemed until late that their efforts would not be enough to pull even with Creighton. But in the 87th minute, forward Julia Stirpe received a penalty kick and did not disappoint. Stirpe ripped the penalty kick to the right side past Bluejay goalie McKenzie Meola, equalizing the game at1-1.

"Stirpe's a smart attacker, so she was able to penetrate, took contact, and fell down in the box," Stainton said. "And when it comes to penalty kicks, I don't think there's anyone more confident than Stirpe."

Regulation ticked down and neither team could snap the tie, so the match went into overtime. Both teams had a handful of good scoring chances over the two overtime periods, but solid goaltending on both ends of the pitch kept the match even until the final whistle.

The Pirates' Big East conference record improved to 0-2-3. The team continues its conference play on Oct. 14, traveling to St. John's (5-8-1).

Bob Towey can be reached at robert.towey@student.shu.edu.

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