Potsdam, N.Y.- Paige Ford scored her second goal of the year early in the second half to lift the Clarkson University Women's Soccer team to a 1-1 tie with Union College, Saturday afternoon at Hantz Field.
The tie moves Clarkson to 2-4-3 overall, 0-2-1 in the Liberty League. With the upcoming week off, the team returns to action next Saturday, traveling to Geneva, New York to take on William Smith.
Union would get off to a near-perfect start, finding the back of the net within the first minute of the contest. Winning a corner with a long ball forward, Vanessa Jorgensen swung a right-footed cross into the box directly to the head of Anne Pearl whose shot struck the right post of the Clarkson goal. The rebound fell directly to Delaney McNinch who headed the ball into the open net for 1-0.
Looking for a quick response, Rachel Matthews mustered the first attempt for Clarkson just three minutes later, cutting in on her right foot and driving a shot towards goal that was collected by the Union keeper. The Garnet Chargers would produce five more chances over the next 10 minutes, finding the target with just one of their attempts, giving Isabelle Wood her first save to that point.
Wood would be called on in the 28th minute after the visitors were awarded a penalty following a clear foul by a Clarkson defender inside the 18 yard box. Jorgensen would step up to take the spot kick, sending a shot with her right foot to the left of Wood in net. The sophomore goalie would answer that call however, diving down to her left and parrying the shot away from any danger, keeping the lead at just one. Wood made two more stops in the 31st and 32nd minutes to keep the Union attack at bay in the opening 45 while Jamie Dahlgard came close of a Clarkson corner with a right-footed shot in the 34th minute that snuck through a crowd of bodies but was ultimately thwarted by Maya Koster in the Union goal.
Forging a much different start to the second than the first, Clarkson opened the half on the front foot, as Ford would score just over two and a half minutes in. After being awarded a free kick in the attacking third for the Golden Knights, Julia Tylar sent a driven cross that looped over the Union line at the top of the 18 yard box. The ball took one bounce off the turf and fell right into the path of the crashing Ford who managed to redirect the ball past the goalie, into the bottom right corner, to level the game up.
Both teams would trade shooting opportunities as the second half wore on, with Wood making two saves in the 59th and 74th minutes. Focused on winning the midfield battle, chances were at a premium, as over the course of the final 22 minutes of the contest Clarkson managed one attempt to Union's four. The best attempt over that period fell to the Garnet Chargers in the 88th minute where Taylor Bovardi collected another through ball over the top of the Clarkson backline and attempted to chip a shot over an out of goal Wood, but the forward would put too much on the attempt sending the ball into the backstop.
Union held an advantage in total shots (17-7) and shots on goal (7-4) while Clarkson earned seven corners to the visitor's three. Wood was credited with six saves in goal, her most since making eight against University of Rochester on September 6th, Koster would make three for the Garnet Chargers. The Golden Knights would again have eight starters go the full 90 minutes, for the second straight game. Ford led the offense with three total shots.
