Wellesley Soccer Grabs 1-1 Tie at Coast Guard

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Trailing 1-0 late in the second half, first year forward Melise Knowles scored the Blue's only goal of the game to help Wellesley College soccer earn a 1-1 tie with New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Coast Guard on Tuesday evening. 

Wellesley moves to 8-7-4 overall and 2-5-2 in conference play with one game remaining in the NEWMAC regular season. Coast Guard stands one spot ahead of the Blue in seventh place in the conference standings at 8-7-2 overall and 3-5-1 in NEWMAC contests. 

Wellesley goalkeepers Claire Cerda and Kat Goldsmith combined to make five saves in the contest. Cerda made three saves in the first half while Goldsmith played the second half and both overtime periods, adding a pair of saves. 

It took Coast Guard until the 61st minute to get a shot past the Blue goalkeepers. Senior Julia Mundy scored the first goal of the contest, and her first goal of the season, on an unassisted shot that bounced over Goldsmith's head to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The Bears held on to the advanatage for 15 minutes before Knowles beat her defender at the top of the penalty area and fired a shot past Coast Guard senior goalkeeper Holly Moore and into the bottom corner of the goal for her fifth goal of the year. Moore made 11 saves in the tie.

The Blue continued to pressure the Bears in the second half and overtime, outshooting Coast Guard 5-3 after the break and 7-0 in the overtime periods. Wellesley finished with a 17-10 advantage in shots and a 4-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities but were unable to add to Knowles strike in the 77th minute. 

In the first overtime period, Knowles had the ball on the right side of the Bear's penalty area and hit a curling shot to the back post, but Moore made a diving save to turn away Knowles' shot and keep the game knotted at one.

The Blue had their best opportunity of the game in the second overtime period when Knowles' pass found a wide open junior Darlene Dang just inside the Coast Guard penalty box. Dang took a shot, but miss hit it, and the ball went wide and out of play.

The Blue will host Springfield in their regular season finale on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Coast Guard will play at MIT, also on Saturday at 1:00 PM.