After falling behind in the first and second half, women’s soccer bounced back to earn its second draw of the season against Towson Thursday.
The Colonials (2-1-2) matched the Tigers (2-4-1) goal-for-goal to end the game 2–2 in double overtime. GW outshot Towson 30-7, putting 14 more shots on goal than the Tigers.
“When you’re down a goal you have to go and you have to push,” head coach Michelle Demko said. “You have to press and you have to have a little bit more urgency.”
The squad’s two goals came from junior midfielder Kelly Amador and sophomore midfielder Maria Pareja. Pareja netted the ball with less than three minutes remaining to send the team into overtime.
Towson started scoring early in the game, finding the back of the net 10 minutes into the game. Senior midfielder Lexi Littlefield earned her first goal of the season and put the Tigers up 1–0 on the Colonials.
“After that goal, we knew that that shouldn’t have happened and just put an even more fire under our belts to come back,” Amador said.
After the Tigers gained an edge, five different Colonials fired six total shots at the net until one by redshirt senior midfielder/forward Sofia Pavon went between the pipes. Pavon led the squad with seven shots, five of which were on goal.
The Colonials hammered three more shots at freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Pazdziorko before heading into the half knotted at 1–1. Pazdziorko made 16 saves on the day.
The squad jumped out the gate, dominating the Tigers and raining six unanswered shots on their net in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Towson powered back to GW’s side of the pitch, getting two shots off and forcing redshirt freshman Tamaki Machi to make a save. Machi nabbed two saves on the day.
Charging back to the Towson net, junior midfielder Natalie Silberman narrowly missed the goal, shooting a rocket over the crossbar. The teams remained in a stalemate, sprinting back and forth with few opportunities.
About 76 minutes into the match, the Tigers broke through. Senior defender Sydney Davis knocked the ball past Machi and Towson went up 2–1 on the Colonials. Pareja said the team knew it had been performing well, but the second Towson goal prompted them to play harder.
“Just put that fire under our belts and was sort of a reality check, like, ‘OK we need to grind here we need to get that goal,’” Pareja said.
With less than three minutes remaining, redshirt sophomore Rachel Sorkenn took the ball toward the Towson net. Pareja charged with her, receiving the ball from Sorkenn and launching it into the back of the goal to tie the game 2–2.
After 90 minutes, the Colonials returned to the bench to prepare for their second consecutive overtime game. The team stayed in a deadlock with Maryland Sunday, drawing the game 1–1.
GW had an opportunity early in the first overtime on a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Sammy Neyman. Pazdziorko bobbled the ball but regained composure and shut down the play.
In under a minute, Towson ran down the field and fired a shot at Machi, who made a diving stop. But the ball slipped from her hands and lied in play before she recollected it and ended the Tigers’ drive.
In the second overtime, GW outshot Towson 4-0, but the Tigers had their best opportunity of the game. With under a minute to play, Machi was called for a handball outside the box, setting the Tigers up a few yards from the net. The Colonials defended their goal and Machi nabbed the ball to end the game knotted at 2–2.
Demko said the squad will focus on maintaining possession and setting the speed ahead of its next match.
“Towson did a good job early on deconstructing our possession,” Demko said. “We’re going to have to get a hold of the ball early and just be in the driver’s seat with tempo and hopefully make them chase the game.”
The Colonials are back in action for the last game of their homestand against Bucknell. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
