WEST HAVEN, Conn. – An 88th-minute goal by Monica Yanez (West Haven, Conn./West Haven) was the dramatic equalizer as the University of New Haven women’s soccer team battled visiting Bentley to a 3-3 draw on Saturday afternoon at Kayo Field. Nicole Pacapelli (West Haven, Conn./West Haven / Stonehill College) and Lucy Francisco (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) also scored for the Chargers.
After the deadlock, New Haven stands at 4-1-1 overall and 1-1-1 in the Northeast-10. The Falcons remain unbeaten at 3-0-2 on the season with a 1-0-2 conference tally.
Yanez’s goal was her Northeast-10-best seventh marker of the 2012 campaign. The junior, who also added an assist, has scored a goal in each of the Chargers’ first six matches.
For the second straight match, New Haven found itself in an early hole when Jenna Skagerlind netted her first goal of the season less than five minutes into the contest. Working outside the box, Skagerlind lofted a shot over the outstretched arms of Chargers’ goalkeeper Moriah Saidel (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) to put Bentley on top, 1-0.
The Chargers responded less than two minutes later, when Pacapelli drove a free kick from 25 yards out into the back of the net to knot the match at 1-1. Pacapelli’s unassisted marker was her third of the season and her sixth in 23 career matches as a Charger.
New Haven would pull into the lead in the final 10 minutes of the opening period. Yanez controlled the ball in the box and passed it back to Francisco, who wound up with her right foot and drove the orb into the top right corner to give the Chargers a 2-1 advantage in the 37th minute.
With her 18th career goal, Francisco claimed sole possession of 10th place on the Chargers’ all-time points list. The senior from Lawrence, Mass. is also 10th all-time in goals scored at New Haven and shares 11th place on the career assists ledger with 12.
Skagerlind struck again just over eight minutes into the second half, tying the match at 2-2 with her second goal of the match and the season. The Falcons would later claim the lead in the 73rd minute on Elena Ochsenreither’s first marker of 2012.
The 3-2 score was on its way to being the final tally before the ball got loose in the Chargers’ offensive end. Marisa Garcia (Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon) and Bentley goalkeeper Christiana Hynds both challenged the bouncing ball, which Garcia redirected over Hynds and to the foot for Yanez, who deposited it in the vacated cage to tie match at 3-3 with just 2:52 to play in regulation.
Yanez’s seventh goal of the fall was also her 12th as a Charger. Her three-point afternoon runs her career total to 31 in 41 matches at New Haven. Garcia has doled out four assists in four matches played this season.
The Chargers were the aggressors in the extra time, but Hynds made a save on a Yanez breakaway in each of the two overtime periods to preserve the 3-3 draw.
Saidel helmed the New Haven goal for the first 77:51, stopping five shots. Natasha Purchla (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) made her collegiate debut over the final 32:09 of the match and did not face a shot on target. Hynds went the distance and made eight saves for Bentley.
New Haven will play its next two matches away from the Nutmeg State at conference opponents Le Moyne on Sept. 18 and Stonehill on Sept. 22.
