On Sunday afternoon, Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team drew against a strong Centre College team 1-1. Centre is typically a tough regional opponent and the Spartans were able to scrape out a tie against a strong program which they have lost to the past two years.

Neither team could find a rhythm in their passing early on in the game. Much of the play was in the midfield as both teams looked to have control of the center of the field and therefore help to dictate the flow of the game. And while the Spartans did not have strong possession in the midfield, they were able to find some tempo in their play which allowed them to create some chances early in the match.

A great pass in the 23rd minute into forward Jessie Sabers’ feet allowed her to run at and then skip by her defender. Sabers in turn whipped a great cross to midfielder Alexa Williams, whose glancing header just went over the ball. Williams also had a great chance in the first half, which was unluckily tipped by the keeper and then cleared off the goal line. The match would remain scoreless into the break.

The Colonels were the ones to strike first. Centre’s Katie Upton was able to redirect a pass from Anne Mitchell in the 59th minute for the match’s first goal. The goal was mainly against the run of play as the Spartans came out shooting in the second half. Forward Caitlyn McGillis had a blistering shot shortly out of halftime from 30 yards out, which hit the crossbar.
McGillis was able to tie it up in the 83rd minute. After a long range shot from midfielder Amy Lindberg again hit off the crossbar, this time the ball landed in front of the waiting McGillis to easily slot home. The Spartans were able to hold on through regulation and the two overtime periods to secure the tie. The result moved their record to 3-1-1 early in the season.

The Spartans outshot the Colonels 10-6, though only half of the shots were on goal for the Spartans.

Senior goalkeeper Abbey Smith helped to anchor the Spartan defense. She made five saves on the day and had superb showing in net.

The Spartans followed up the tie with a strong 1-0 win against crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday night to move to a 4-1-1 record. The Spartans had great control in the game and kept the ball in the Yellow Jacket half for most of the game.

The Spartans rattled off 19 shots compared to the six managed by the Yellow Jackets. However the Baldwin Wallace defense held strong and their keeper played spectacularly keeping 10 Spartan shots out of the net.

Despite the Spartan heavy possession levels, the game remained scoreless until Sabers received a bounding pass from Lauren Wichman in the top of the box and redirected the pass into the back of the net for her 10th career game winning goal.

Smith worked another shutout with four saves on the night to lead the Spartan defense which was only contested in a minimum of strong runs from Baldwin Wallace into the backfield.

The Spartans will return to the pitch when they head on the road to battle Ohio Northern University, kickoff is at 5 p.m. on Saturday.