Box Score

The Capital University women's soccer team opened Ohio Athletic Conference play with a positive result Saturday, tying John Carroll 1-1 in double overtime at University Heights, Ohio.

The Crusaders, who knocked off the Blue Streaks (5-4-1 overall, 0-0-1 OAC) last season in the OAC Tournament final and secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs, took the lead just over 70 minutes into the affair but surrendered a goal with just over five minutes left in regulation.

Capital (5-5-1, 0-0-1) outshot John Carroll 3-1 in the overtime periods, but was unable to find the back of the net for the second time.

"We're disappointed with the tie, but we're still unbeaten in conference play and got a point out of it on the road," Capital coach Chris Kouns said. "In the conference it's very difficult to win anywhere on the road and we certainly need to be positive about the fact that we came away with a tie."

Senior Natalie Fiorelli (Pickerington, Ohio) tallied her team-leading sixth goal of the season in the 71st minute to open scoring and give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead. Freshman Mariah Richards (Canton, Ohio) recorded her second assist of the year on the play.

The Blue Streaks tied the match at 1-1 in the 85th minute just after a Capital foul. Neither team was able to find a golden goal in the extra time.

Junior Maggie Donnellan (Cincinnati, Ohio) recorded 10 saves in goal. The Crusaders defended against 17 John Carroll shots, compared to 15 on the other end.

"I thought the back four of Mariah Richards, Lauren Roy, Corey McClellan and Dani Irwin, plus Ashleigh Schmittle substituting in, played pretty well today," Kouns said. "Jamie Murray and Rachael Wintering played really great up top for us. I thought we had a lot of people with really good effort."

The Crusaders host defending OAC regular season champion Ohio Northern this Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Bernlohr Stadium.