ERIE, Pa. - The Gannon women’s soccer team out-shot West Virginia Wesleyan 31-12 and controlled play throughout the second period and both overtime sessions Monday night at Gannon University Field. Unfortunately, the Lady Knights were unable to dent the scoreboard as the two Atlantic region powerhouses settled for a double-overtime, scoreless tie.
The first half was played on even terms with Gannon owning an 8-3 edge in shots. The final 45 minutes of regulation belonged to the Lady Knights. The home team out-shot the Bobcats 13-4, but could not produce the winning score.
Initially, the second half opened with some drama. Gannon fired off four shots in the span of four minutes and seven seconds. Wesleyan goalkeeper Lauren Hessian turned away two of those shots while the other two never made it on goal. Following a Hessian save in the 56th minute, Laura Dalton slipped behind the Gannon defense for a great look. However,
Sabrina Chirco (Brampton, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) came out of the goal and make a spectacular sliding save on Dalton to keep the teams deadlocked.
Head coach Colin Petersen’s squad had several scoring chances in regulation. The best opportunity arguably came with 40 seconds left when
Amanda Sharbaugh (Sarver, Pa./Knoch) used an athletic move to fire a shot off the crossbar.
Gannon again controlled the first overtime session, out-shooting West Virginia Wesleyan 6-1. But it was Hessian who kept the match going with four more saves during the 10-minute period.
The second overtime session turned into a shoot-out. Sharbaugh had another scoring chance 54 seconds into the frame, but Hessian stopped her cold on an uncontested shot from the right side.
West Virginia Wesleyan quickly turned back down field after the save and had two great chances, but Chirco made two more unbelievable saves in the span of three seconds to keep the Bobcats scoreless. Both teams took four shots and both goalkeepers recorded two saves during the final overtime session.
Gannon out-shot West Virginia Wesleyan 31-12 and held a slight 3-1 edge in corner kicks. Chirco made eight saves, increasing her school-record career shutout total to 15 with her second whitewashing of the season. The senior recorded seven of her eight saves after halftime. Hessian finished with 14 saves for the Bobcats.
Gannon moved its record to 1-0-1 with Monday’s tie. West Virginia Wesleyan is now 0-2-1. The Lady Knights return to action Friday, September 10 at Mansfield. The PSAC opener is scheduled for 4 p.m.
For a complete box score from Monday’s Gannon-West Virginia Wesleyan women’s soccer match, please
click here.