The Waynesburg University women’s soccer team hosted La Roche College Tuesday, Sept. 12. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead at halftime, the Yellow Jackets were unable to keep the lead as the Redhawks notched two late goals to force overtime.

During overtime, neither team would be able to find the back of the net, resulting in a 2-2 tie.

The Yellow Jackets started off strong, with a goal by senior forward Nikki Davis in the 12th minute of the match. The goal was Davis’ team-leading third of the season. Then shortly after, sophomore midfielder Christina Golonka notched a goal of her own, her first of the season, on a cross by senior forward Melanie Byler. Byler’s assist was her first of the young season.

The Yellow Jackets went into the half up 2-0, looking like they were in control. The Redhawks made some adjustments at halftime, including switching their goalkeeper for the second half.

La Roche scored a goal in the 72nd minute of the game when Redhawk junior midfielder Ryleigh Gapzinski buried a rebound, cutting the deficit to one.

Before the game even began, senior defender Sam Nichols said she knew the game was going to be hard fought.

“Before we stepped on the field, we all knew this was going to be a physical, competitive game. I think our effort as a team was there,” said Nichols.

La Roche played a physical game, as they had two yellow cards in the second half.

With seven minutes left in the game, the Redhawks tied the game 2-2 when senior forward Vanessa Ceravolo knocked one past senior goalkeeper Heather Fraser.

As the momentum continued to swing towards La Roche, Nichols said that the team needed to keep their focus to prevent La Roche from getting a game-winning goal.

“When La Roche scored the second goal to tie it up, I instantly knew that we couldn’t let our heads down,” said Nichols. “The mistakes that were made because of that goal needed to be fixed and we needed to give it everything we had to hold them.”

The Yellow Jackets held on through the rest of regulation as the scored remained tied at two. Each team had multiple chances throughout the overtime periods, but neither team was able to put the finishing touches on the game. The strong defensive efforts in overtime for both teams led to a 2-2 final decision.

As a team, Waynesburg managed eight shots, six of which were on net. La Roche had 26 shots, with just 11 of those being on frame. Fraser finished the game stopping nine-of-11 shots on goal in 110 minutes of action.

Waynesburg is back in action on Friday, Sept. 15, for its third straight home game. The Yellow Jackets host Mount Aloysius at 6 p.m. for the Night of Nets match, which is a night dedicated towards helping end malaria.