DELAWARE, OH – The Lady Barons soccer team fought through a mentally grueling away game against the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops, were unable to secure the win, finishing with a 1-1 overtime tie. 

"It was a heartbreaking game," Head Coach Clare McBane said. "We outshot them twenty three to nine, but we just couldn't get it to finish." 

With such a high shooting ratio, the Lady Barons clearly had control of the field. Despite an early shot from Cocozza, however, which hit the crossbeam, the goal line, and bounced out of the goal, the game remained scoreless through the first half and most of the second

Finally, after seventy-seven minutes of hard play, senior forward Julia Cocozza finished a cross from senior forward Maura Kennedy and put the first point on the scoreboard. 

Six minutes later, the Bishops finished a free kick thirty yards from goal, evening out the score and moving the game into overtime to decide the win. 

After twenty minutes of overtime, the score remained tied 1-1 and the Lady Barons left the field disappointed.

McBane said that despite their final score frustration, there were several positive elements to the game.

One of these was senior midfielder Sarah Pettinger's return to the field for more playing time after an early season injury. Pettinger maintained energy up in the center, spurring on the offense.

The FUS defense, meanwhile, allowed only two corners during the entire game as freshman defender Sarah Shriner closed down the Bishop's offense.  

"While Pettinger really helped to keep the energy up to help us continue our attack, Shriner played outside defense and used her speed to eliminate the double team on the side," McBane said.    

McBane added that the team worked hard to create opportunities but were unable to put the finishing touch on the win.

"The girls knew that this game was definitely in their hands," McBane said.  "We were taking a lot of shots that were a threat on goal, but we just couldn't get it to drop."

Now 5-2-1, the Lady Barons will next play Washington and Jefferson on September 24 at 7pm.