EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire women's soccer team was seeking its first victory of the season in the 2012 home opener at Bollinger Field against the College of Saint Benedict (Minn.). The Blugolds struck first, but Saint Benedict was able to battle back as the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Entering play Saturday, the Blugolds were still seeking their first goal of the season as they came in 0-3-0. Allie Stone (Jr.-Madison, Wis./Verona) put the Blugolds ahead in the 16th minute of action and Paige LeGate (Jr.-Green Bay/Bay Port) picked up the assist.
Eau Claire held the 1-0 lead through the rest of the first half, controlling play throughout most of the half. They outshot Saint Benedict 12-4, but the second half proved to be a different story.
Just over ten minutes into the second half, in the 57th minute, Saint Benedict tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by Alyssa Hoffman and an assist by Colleen Bouchard. Both teams had chances to take the lead, but the goalkeepers were not going to have any of it.
Saint Benedict outshot the Blugolds 9-5 in the second half, but Nina Behrenbrinker (Jr.-St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) made five saves to keep them off the board. The two teams headed to overtime and the Blugolds came up with the only strong scoring chance, but Saint Benedict goalkeeper, Megan Favorite, kept it out of the net.
Favorite finished with 11 saves in the game while Behrenbrinker made nine saves to improve to 0-3-1 this season.
The Blugolds will be back in action Wednesday this week when they open up conference play against UW-Stout at 5 p.m. at Bollinger Field. It will be the second of seven consecutive home games for UW-Eau Claire.
-JM-
