PHILADELPHIA – The Towson University women's soccer team engaged in a furious battle on a cold Friday night at Saint Joseph's, with a first half goal by Alexandra Rush leading to a 1-1 draw as Towson stays unbeaten through two games.
 
Towson (0-0-2) led at half after Rush's 32^nd minute goal.  Saint Joseph's (1-2-1) equalized early in the second half as the two sides battled back-and-forth the rest of the way.  Towson had five shots in the second overtime period, putting two on cage, but the game ended in a draw.
 
Key Stats:

• The goal by Alexandra Rush is Towson's first goal of the young season, unassisted.  Riley Melendez got the draw in cage, her second such result in a row, with five saves.  Rush finished with three shots while Nia Christopher, Khori Banks and Phoebe Canoles each had two.
• Saint Joseph's outshot Towson in the game 16-11, but Towson had more chances in overtime 5-2.
• For the Hawks, Morgan Bower equalized in the 48^th minute, assisted by Mackenzie Ehresman and Natalie Nevins.  Kathleen Rivera got the draw in goal with five saves.

Postgame Quote:
--Towson head coach Katherine Vettori: "I'm proud of our fight today.  During the first half, we passed the ball well and stayed organized defensively.  Alex Rush picked up a loose ball 25 yards out and drove it into the bottom left corner, it was beautiful.  St. Joseph's is very dangerous on set pieces and capitalized.  In overtime, opportunities opened up for us.  However much it would have been nice to finish our chances, it is still nice to be unbeaten.  We will continue to work on finishing."
 
How It Happened:

• In the cold of Philadelphia, the teams spent the first seven minutes going back-and-forth in the midfield.  The Hawks got a couple of shots in the coming minutes, but the score remains at zero.
• Towson picked up a corner in the 17^th minute, but did not get off a shot.  St. Joe's routinely looked to counterattack, with Riley Melendez saving another shot in the 19^th minute.
• In minute 28, Towson's push on offense got a chance as Khori Banks went for the cage, but was stopped by St. Joe's keeper Kathleen Rivera.  Again the Hawks countered, and again Melendez made the save on a short range shot.
• As St. Joe's tried to clear out the ball, Alexandra Rush got the ball and went back towards the box.  From the center, she fired a shot and found the net inside the left post for her first career goal in the 32^nd minute, giving Towson the lead 1-0.
• A pair of corners for St. Joe's gave an equalizing chance in the 37^th minute.  Towson held as the shot from Mackenzie Ehresman hit the side of the post and went out of bounds.  Towson got a corner kick in the closing minute of the half but did not get off a shot, going into the break up 1-0.
• Three minutes into the second half, the Hawks equalized: two touches off a free kick and a shot from Morgan Bower found the net to tie the score at 1-1.
• Towson's defense held against a long St. Joe's possession in its offensive third, with a final Hawk shot hitting the crossbar.  Nia Christopher led the counterattack as the ball got to Demi Pierre.  Pierre took a long range shot, missing high in the 64^th minute.
• Towson kept holding on the St. Joe's pressure, also getting a couple of counterattacks to threaten.  One such counterstrike led to Maja Hansson getting a long range shot, being saved by the keeper.
• As the defense held off Hawk shots, Towson had a final look in the half off a free kick.  Phoebe Canoles went right for the cage, but her shot was saved.  The teams went into overtime.
• The first overtime mainly saw the Hawks attack on the offensive end, with Towson defenders preventing dangerous chances.  The lone chance for the home team came on a 95^th minute shot by Izzy Greene, with Melendez coming up with the save.
• Towson was the far more aggressive team in the second overtime and nearly took the win twice.  Christopher got through the defense and shot on cage, being saved.  A second chance shot by Banks went high.
• As the keeper tried to send the ball away, Rush got it back and fired towards the net, slamming the post.  Her second effort was blocked by a defender.  Two minutes later, Christopher tried again, but was saved.  The two sides finished in a draw 1-1.

Inside the Numbers:

• This is the first time in program history where Towson began the season with a pair of draws.  It is the first time since 2005 where Towson had back-to-back stalemates, drawing Delaware 1-1 on Oct. 23 and William & Mary 0-0 on Oct. 27.
• All-time, Towson leads the series vs. Saint Joseph's 3-2-1.

Next Game:
Towson's home opener is set for Thursday, March 10 at 6 p.m. vs. George Washington.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –