BOWLING GREEN, KY – Siena Women's Soccer erased a two-goal halftime deficit, and nearly completed the comeback in the final minute, before having to settle for a hard-earned 2-2 tie to open their southern swing Thursday night at Western Kentucky.
Siena (0-2-1) seemed to be in for a long night after Western Kentucky (1-0-2) scored twice within the first 11 minutes on an evening where the temperature exceeded 90 degrees with a heat index touching triple digits long after sunset.
Kayla Meyer opened the scoring just 4:41 in when she blasted a shot from distance inside the top right corner, and Ambere Barnett added an insurance tally at the 10:46 mark, finishing a header off a service from Annah Hopkins.
But the Saints settled down and settled in thereafter, with the teams ultimately trading five shots apiece heading into the break.
A rejuvenated Siena caught its second wind heading into the final stanza and wasted no time in turning the match completely around. Just 61 seconds into the second half,
Megan Stowell made a run into the right side of the box. The freshman's centering feed was ping-ponged off a defender and in for an own goal to snap a 226-minute scoring drought to open the season, and quickly put the Saints back in business.
Another freshman then completed the turnaround less than 14 minutes later. In the 60
th minute,
Grace Dimkopoulos sent
Julia Dening on a long run down the left side. Dening and the keeper came together and, when the ball squirted free, the freshman fired home the tying tally for her first collegiate marker.
Hungry for more, the Saints nearly came all the way back to snatch a victory in the final minute. With just 45 seconds remaining Stowell, who played a brilliant game, crossed to Dimkopoulos who redirected a shot from just inside the top of the 18. The target went over the leaping keeper, off the crossbar and, as it landed, deflected off the keeper's back and seemed to completely cross the line. But unfortunately for Siena, which was in the midst of celebrating what appeared to be the winning goal, the match played on as the final seconds ticked off on the draw.
The Hilltoppers held a 16-10 shot advantage and a 5-3 margin in corners.
Brooke Boermeester made four saves for the Saints.
Siena will look to build upon its strong second half performance Sunday when they complete their southern swing at Lipscomb. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT) in Nashville.
