The American University women's soccer team faced Columbia on Friday afternoon, battling the Lions to an overtime finish that resulted in a scoreless tie.
The Eagles had trouble controlling possession throughout the first half, trading sides with the Lions as both teams made several shots without scoring. Columbia made a strong run at breaking the 0-0 deadlock late in the second half, but American's defense held strong to preserve the tie.
With just under eight minutes left to play in regulation, AU goalie Alison Doyle, who had eight saves on the day, mishandled a block when she slipped and went down in front of the goal. With Doyle down and the ball loose, Columbia's Aubrey Medal seized the opportunity and shot into the open net, but was foiled by a great block from American defender Kelly McLaughlin.
American made several shots at the start of the first overtime, but failed to score. Columbia came back with a few attempts of their own, but Doyle made a string of impressive saves to keep the game going to into a second overtime.
"Coming off a poor performance on Wednesday, I thought we outfitted ourselves in a much more positive manner today," said AU head coach Michael Brady. "I feel like certainly [during] the second half we dominated the game. We maintained possession, we had them chasing and it got a little bit loose at the end and they got a couple of chances. If we were a bit sharper we could have come away with a win today."
Though visibly tired, both teams battled into the final minutes of the second overtime, trading shots and saves and remaining physical until the final whistle. AU's Jana Lee came close with a nice header two minutes in, but was denied with a quick save by Columbia goalie Allison Vespa.
"They hung in there tough and battled," Brady said. "You never want to allow teams to come to your field and leave with a victory that hasn't been hard-earned."
Friday's tie marks the Eagles' first of the season and puts their record at 4-2-1.
The Eagles next play at George Washington on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
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