GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Wednesday evening, the No. 3 Messiah women's soccer team earned their second straight draw on the season, with a 3-3 tie against Johns Hopkins University. In the 17th minute,
Kristina Akselsen ripped a shot into the top left corner to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. The Blue Jays tied the game in the 52nd to start a wild second-half. Off a free kick,
Julia Martin gave the Falcons back the lead with a header off of a great ball from
Jenna Skurcenski. The Blue Jays answered with a tying goal in the 76th minute and another goal in the 83rd minute to take a 3-2 lead. In the 85th minute,
Brittany Laird scored a tying goal with a shot into the top-left corner to put the final score at 3-3.
Up next, the Falcons begin a five-game road trip at Swarthmore College on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6:00 p.m.
First Half
After a couple minutes of the teams going back and forth, the Falcons got their first opportunity of the game in the 10th minute.
Bella Touzeau sent a ball into the box where
Brittany Laird was streaking towards the goal. After a touch that moved Laird away from the sliding Blue Jay goalkeeper, she sent a strike towards the goal, but it went just right of the post. The Falcons though would not have to wait long to get on the board. In the 17th minute,
Brittany Laird sent a long pass that switched the field to
Kristina Akselsen. Akselsen dribbled the ball in to outside of the box and sent a strike into the top-left corner to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Both teams had several opportunities in the remainder off the half, but
Ava Wert and the Blue Jays goalkeeper made a couple of saves to keep the Falcons lead at 1-0 headed into the break.
Second Half
The Blue Jays tied the game at one with a shot just inside the box that went into the bottom-left corner of the goal. The Falcons got their next big chance in the 66th minute with a free kick.
Jenna Skurcenski took the free kick for the Falcons and sent a great ball into the box where
Julia Martin got a head on the ball and sent it into the bottom-left corner of the goal to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead. The Blue Jays tied the game once again in the 76th minute after a long ball was sent into the box and after skipping off a head, a Blue Jay forward sent the ball into the bottom-left corner. The Blue Jays took a late lead in the 83rd minute after a clearing attempt from the Falcons bounced off the back of a Blue Jay's forward and into the goal. Even with the late goal that put the Falcons down by one, the Falcons would not go down without a fight. In the 85th minute,
Tahlia Lloyd sent a long ball towards the right corner to
Bella Touzeau. Touzeau then passed the ball into the box and after deflecting off a couple of Blue Jay's defenders, the ball found
Brittany Laird. Laird sent a one-timer just inside the box, into the left side of the goal to tie the game at 3-3. The Falcons had a chance with a
Hannah Adair shot in the final minutes, but the shot went high and the Falcons and Blue Jays tied at three.
Stats
Kristina Akselsen,
Julia Martin, and
Brittany Laird each scored a goal for the Falcons.
Jenna Skurcenski tallied an assist. The Falcons totaled 19 shots with six shots on goal. The Blue Jays tallied 24 shots with seven shots on goal. The Blue Jays earned seven corner kicks to the Falcons two.
Ava Wert made four saves in goal for the Falcons.
Next
The Falcons begin a five-game road trip at Swarthmore College on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 6:00 p.m.
