Box Score (PDF)

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's soccer team picked up one point on the opening weekend of Atlantic Sun play as the Spartans played to a 1-1 draw with Northern Kentucky Sunday afternoon from County University Soccer Stadium.

Upstate forward Rachel Baylor nearly put the Spartans on the board in the 15th minute when she received a pass sent into the Northern Kentucky box from the right wing by Kenzie Major. Baylor gained control of the ball and fired a shot that just glided over the crossbar and out of the field of play.

Jessica Fry came inches from putting Northern Kentucky ahead in the 25th minute with a shot that hit off the crossbar and ricocheted straight down and into the hands of Upstate keeper Ellen Bright. Less than two minutes later, Morgan Shafer saw her shot just outside the Upstate box bounce off the crossbar and trickle to the feet of Alexa Hone, who cleared the ball down the field to spoil the scoring chance.

Northern Kentucky finished the first half with a 5-4 advantage in shots and a 5-0 edge in corner kicks.

Aubrey Muench put Northern Kentucky ahead in the 52nd minute with her second goal of the season, using a feed from Kelsey Laumann to give the Norse a 1-0 lead. Laumann dribbled down the right side of the field and delivered a cross inside the Upstate box to a waiting Muench. Muench trapped the ball with her left foot and then used a right-footed shot to beat Bright near post.

Upstate netted the equalizer less than nine minutes later when junior Caroline Keener notched her first career goal in a Spartan uniform. Major started the scoring opportunity with a long pass downfield to the left of the Northern Kentucky goal. Baylor raced down the field and beat her defender to the ball and made a quick move to prevent it from crossing the line before delivering a pass across the box to Nicki Krejci. Krejci followed with a pass to her right where a streaking Keener took two dribbles and fired a shot far post past Norse keeper Tanner Ruberg.

"It was an exciting feeling to score my first goal at Upstate," Keener said. "It was a critical point in the game and we needed to make something happen, so it was especially nice to be able to help put my team in position to potentially win the game."

Bright tallied four saves in the second half to help Upstate force overtime, which included a key save on a header from Macy Hamblin in the 83rd minute. She finished the game with six saves and is unbeaten in her last two games.

Neither team managed a shot or developed a scoring opportunity in the two overtime periods.

"It was a hard fought battle on both sides with both teams grinding it out until the end," USC Upstate head coach Abby Minihan said. "Our team has made some improvements and I think they showed some of that today. I thought we really demonstrated some grit and resolve that maybe wasn't there earlier this year. We're not happy with finishing with a tie, but we are satisfied with some of the progress we have made."

Upstate resumes conference play Friday at 7 p.m. when the Spartans welcome Florida Gulf Coast to County University Soccer Stadium.

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