The High Point University women's soccer team opened the home portion of their 2007 schedule with a hard-fought 2-2 tie against long-time rival Elon on Thursday night at Vert Stadium.
The Panthers (0-2-1) and Phoenix (1-1-1) settled for the draw in the second game of the opening day's action of the HPU Invitational. North Carolina State blanked Campbell, 3-0, in the first game of the tournament on Thursday.
HPU controlled the ball for much of the 110 minutes of action against Elon as the Panthers posted a 23-3 advantage in shot attempts including an 8-2 edge in shots on goal. The Phoenix made the most of their chances though, scoring on two of their three tries. High Point also held a 13-2 lead in corner kicks.
"I thought we dominated play in nearly all facets of the game tonight," said HPU head coach Michelle Rayner. "We just couldn't find a way to get the deciding goal into the net. I am extremely proud of our effort tonight. I felt our whole team refused to quit and that allowed us to have a chance for the win. We continue to grow as a team and this should help us raise our level of play even higher."
Redshirt senior Jen Evans, the HPU program's Division I all-time leading scorer, netted her first goal of the season in the 17th minute of the first half (17:22). Evans settled a crossing pass from sophomore Courtney Spotts at the top of the 18-yard box, spun around an Elon defender then blasted a shot into the upper left hand corner of the goal to put the Panthers up 1-0.
After nearly 30 minutes of scoreless action, Elon snatched the lead after tallying a pair of goals over a five minute span in the second half. At 55:27, Kerri Speers used her head to redirect a service into the six-yard box to the feet of Molly Calpin, who slipped the ball past a diving HPU goalkeeper. Katina Boozer found the back of the net at 60:13, finishing a pass across the front of the goal box from teammate Alix Heinicke to put the Phoenix up 2-1.
High Point answered on its very next possession when freshman Sara Rager lifted a ball with a quick flick to the head of sophomore Laura Eldridge, who was able to push the ball into the side of the goal for the equalizing score at 60:43.
The Panthers out-shot the Phoenix 7-0 in the overtime periods but could not tally the game winner as several HPU attempts found the crossbar or goal post.
HPU concludes tournament play on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., against N.C. State while Elon will square off against Campbell at 1 p.m. earlier that day.
GAME 1
North Carolina State opened tournament action in the HPU Invitational with a solid 3-0 shut out win over Campbell.
The Wolfpack got on the board quickly notching their first goal with just 2:38 elapsed in the opening period. Lindsay Vera dribbled the ball into the right side of the box eluding a pair of Camel defenders before slotting the ball into the left side of the net.
State upped their lead to 2-0 in the 23rd minute (23:09) when Kendall Irby gathered a loose ball in front of the net following a corner kick and found the back of the net. NCSU closed the scoring with a final goal in the second half in the 76th minute (76:22). Tami Krzeszewski blasted an upper 90 in the right corner after a quick touch pass on a free kick by Briana Cunningham.
