The University of Scranton women’s soccer team had gone 13 straight matches with a victory entering Wednesday night’s match against Moravian at Fitzpatrick Field. For 45 minutes, it looked like that streak would be extended.

But the Greyhounds rallied with a pair of second-half goals, then held off a furious push by the Royals in the two overtime periods to secure a 2-2 draw in a key Landmark Conference contest.

The draw snaps the Royals’ winning streak, which was the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division III women’s soccer entering the night. The two goals by Moravian are the first two goals the Royals have allowed in their last 13 matches against Landmark Conference opponents. Scranton is 24-0-3 in its last 27 matches against a conference foe.

Scranton (13-2-1, 3-0-1), which is ranked third in the first Mid-Atlantic Region rankings released by the NCAA on Wednesday, jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead on the strength of goals by freshman forward Christina Akalaski (Long Beach, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and sophomore midfielder Michaela Arbus (Pequannock, N.J./DePaul Catholic).

Akalski scored in the 33rd minute when she dribbled through the defense and fired a shot from outside the box that sailed into the upper left corner of the next for her sixth goal of the season, third on the team. Arbus scored less than four minutes later when her cross from the right side curled toward the goal, caromed off the far post and in for her first goal of the season and third of her career.

Scranton held a 7-5 advantage in shots in the first half, but Moravian (6-8-2, 2-2-1) put the pressure on in the second half and it paid off when freshman defender Christine Miklas (Fanwood, N.J./Scotch Plains Fanwood) scored on a header off a corner kick in the 58th minute.

With the momentum on their side, the Greyhounds kept pushing, outshooting Scranton 12-3 in the second half. The final shot was the one that mattered most as junior midfielder Kirsten Schall (Tinton Falls, N.J./St. Rose) got free past the defense and scored the match-tying goal at the 88:15 mark.

Scranton came out for overtime with a sense of urgency and controlled play for most of the first overtime period. But Greyhounds sophomore goalkeeper Jacqueline Zalis (Summit, N.J./Summit) made two saves, then made two more in the second overtime to preserve the draw.

Scranton senior goalkeeper Kelsy McAnelly (West Chester, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) made one save in the first overtime and finished with five saves, tying her season high.

Moravian outshot the Royals, 19-14, just the fourth time this season the Royals have been outshot. Scranton had an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.

The Royals will return to action when they travel to Madison, N.J. on Saturday, Oct. 26, to take on Drew University in a Landmark Conference match at 1 p.m.

--ROYALS--

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