La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team finished in a 4-4 double overtime tie with Illinois Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon in the Eagles' home opener at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex. The Eagles and Titans are now both 1-1-1 on the season. UWL entered the game ranked ninth and Illinois Wesleyan 23rd on the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Preseason Poll.
UWL took a 1-0 lead at 9:20 as
Natalie Herzog scored with an assist from
Margaret Harings. Illinois Wesleyan came back to force a 1-1 tie at 14:06 as Jordan Ellerbrock scored an unassisted goal. The Eagles responded with a pair of goals to take a 3-1 halftime advantage.
Cassie Handrick made it 2-1 at 22:35 with
Sophie Amundson recording the assist while
Kaitlyn Villars made it 3-1 at 24:38 with an assisted goal.
The Eagles finished with five shots in the first half while the Titans recorded 10.
Cameron Hindel's goal for Illinois Wesleyan at 57:23 cut the UWL lead to 3-2. Harings gave the Eagles a 4-2 lead at 79:47, assisted by
Hannah Beech, but the Titans notched a pair of goals in the final 6:00 to force overtime. Flower Edington made it 4-3 at 6:00 with an assist from Rosie Pettenuzzo and Maureen McGrath's goal off Anna Eager's corner kick tied the game at 86:16.
UWL had three shots in the first overtime period while Illinois Wesleyan finished with one. The Titans came back to record all three shots in the second overtime as the teams finished in the 4-4 tie. UWL finished with 14 shots overall, including six on goal, while Illinois Wesleyan had 21 shots with 12 on goal.
Harings finished with four shots while
Maya Schmitt had three. Hindel recorded five shots for Illinois Wesleyan while Pettenuzzo finished wiht four.
Lily Brock finished with four saves for UWL in 68:51 while
Quinn Shannon recorded three saves in 41:09. Shannon was forced to leave the game in overtime. The Eagles also recorded one team save. Kelli McCarthy had two saves for Illinois Wesleyan.
The teams were meeting for the second time in school history after the Titans earned a 1-0 win in Bloomington a year ago.
UWL returns to action Sunday, September 9 hosting the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) at 3 p.m.
