BALTIMORE, Md. – In their second-straight top-10 match-up to begin the season, the No. 1 Messiah women's soccer team finished the night with a 1-1 draw against the No. 6 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. Messiah scored in the final seconds of the opening half on a Rachael Tirjan penalty kick before Johns Hopkins found the equalizer in the 78th minute.
 
The Blue Jays were on the front foot for the vast majority of the second half and both overtime periods, but the Falcons held on for the draw to remain undefeated on the season. In the contest, Johns Hopkins held a 20-10 advantage in shots.
 
Messiah moves to 1-0-1 on the young season and will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Mary Washington to take on the Eagles at 1:00 p.m.
 
Falcons with Chances
Messiah had their best looks of the contest in the first 45 minutes of play. The Falcons were quickly on the attack in the opening minutes of play, registering shots from Kylie Firestone, Rachael Tirjan, and Korinne Kovatch in the first 12 minutes.
 
Kenzie Spodnik tested the Johns Hopkins keeper for the first time in the 30th minute, but her attempt was turned away. After a pair of shots from Brianna Seip and Tirjan were off target, Messiah earned one of their most dangerous moments in the final minute of the first half.
 
Tirjan Nets Penalty
With a free kick just in Johns Hopkins territory, the Falcons played a ball to Tirjan on the right side of the box. After a controlling touch, Tirjan was taken down by a Blue Jay defender and the Falcons were awarded a penalty kick just seconds before the half.
 
Tirjan stepped up to the penalty spot and, despite the keeper guessing the right way, was able to put the Falcons on the board with her strike.
 
The penalty kick goal gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead heading into the break and was the third goal in just two games this season for Tirjan.
 
Hopkins on the Attack
After Messiah held the majority of opportunities in the opening half, it was Johns Hopkins turn after the break. The Blue Jays outshot the Falcons 9-2 in the second half and held the bulk of possession during the final 45 minutes of regulation.
 
Between the pipes, Lydia Watkins did her best to hold off the Blue Jays' attack, making a pair of quality saves in the 59th and 61st minutes. Both of those saves were diving stops to her right to halt shots taken by Rachel Jackson. In total, Watkins made four saves on the evening.
 
Even with the quality stops by Watkins, the Blue Jays kept knocking on the door. In the 78th minute they found their equalizer off of a well-weighted through ball down the middle of the field by Sophia Stone. Jackson ran onto the pass and put home the game-tying goal to knot things at 1-1.
 
That's where the match stood after regulation and the tilt turned to overtime.
 
In the overtime period, the Falcons were still on their heels with Johns Hopkins applying most of the pressure. The Blue Jays took seven shots across the two overtime periods against just one for the Falcons, but nothing could find the back of the net and the top-ten match ended in a 1-1 draw.  
 
What's Up Next
With the draw the Falcons move to 1-0-1 on the young season after facing two of the top six teams in the country. They will be back on the pitch this weekend when they travel to Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday for a non-conference match with Mary Washington beginning at 1:00 p.m.