The Capital University women's soccer team tangled with yet another quality non-conference opponent Sunday, tying host Penn State-Behrend 2-2 on the second day of the Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament in Erie, Pa.

One day after nearly downing fifth-ranked Carnegie Mellon, the Crusaders (0-1-1 overall) took a 2-1 lead early in the second half and nearly held on against the Lions, who qualified for the NCAA Division III Tournament a year ago.

"Today was a true test of the mental toughness and resilience of this team and they answered the call," Capital coach Chris Kouns said. "To come out less than 24 hours after an amazing effort to vie for an upset over Carnegie Mellon and have to play a conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant was a daunting task."

Senior forward Hilary Ells' first goal since the 2011 season gave Capital a 2-1 lead early in the second half. The Grandview Heights, Ohio, native, who was dealt a season-ending injury prior to the 2012 campaign, tallied unassisted just 13 seconds into the period on a shot from inside the box.

The Lions (0-1-1) tied the match in the 71st minute with a goal that proved to force overtime.

"We blasted out of the gate in the second half and had a chance to win the game with a great ball putting Jamie Murray in, one on one, against the goalkeeper, late in the game," Kouns said. "We simply ran out of gas, but we never ran out of heart and effort, which I'm proud to say."

After Penn State-Behrend found the back of the net in the 24th minute to take a 1-0 lead, the Crusaders leveled the match in the 35th following a Lions foul inside the box. Sophomore Allison Mervau (Micanopy, Fla.) put away the penalty kick to even the contest.

Capital, which played without starters Michelle Geiger and Olivia Hein due to injury, outshot Penn State-Behrend 6-2 in the first half and held a 13-10 advantage for the affair.

Senior goalkeeper Maggie Donnellan (Cincinnati, Ohio) totaled two saves.

The Crusaders open their home schedule this Friday against Berry (Ga.) on the first day of the 2013 Fort Rapids Invitational. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Bernlohr Stadium.

"We are just two games into our journey this season, but in each step so far we've made progress," Kouns said. "If we continue to grow on this path we will be in a great position come conference tournament time."