ANDERSON, S.C. - After taking 1-0 lead after the opening 45 minutes, Anderson University women's soccer was unable to maintain its lead, settling with a 1-1 draw with Queens in South Atlantic Conference action on Wednesday afternoon at Trojan Stadium.
With the tie, the Trojans record their first draw of 2014 after setting a record for the most conference ties in the season with five all of last season. Heading into the weekend, Anderson is now 3-3-1 on the season with a 1-1-1 mark in league play. On the opposite side, Queens moves to 2-5-1 overall and 1-1-1 within the conference.
Despite the 1-1 draw, the Trojans controlled the shot category 17-12 with 10 shots coming on the Royals' goal. Freshman Maddie Volz led the charge with five shots on the night, while sophomore Alaina Gay and freshman Lyssa Engle recorded four shots. Engle headlined the bunch with her fifth-minute goal to give Anderson a quick first-half lead.
Volz found some space along the right side and played a pass through the Queens blackline to Engle. Engle right-footed a shot past Queens' goalkeeper Tori Danchak for the match's opening goal. For Engle, the goal was her fourth of the season, while Volz notched her third assist after dishing out two assists against Coker on Saturday.
After heading into halftime with the one-goal advantage, Queens got itself back into the match with a 56th minute goal from Mary Pritts. Following an Alana Jefferson shot on goal that forced sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Lancaster to make a save, the deflection fell to Pritts who slotted home her second goal of the year.
Seeing the match become even once again, the Anderson backline preserved the draw and held Queens to just four shots for the remainder of the match. The Trojans countered with 12 shots in the final 65 minutes, but were unable to find their golden goal. Lancaster closed the afternoon with five saves, her largest total since Sept. 17 at Georgia College.
"A real lesson to learn tonight," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "When you are dominant early on and the chances keep coming, it's crucial that we score goals and take the pressure off our backline and goalkeeper. We had a spell in the second half where we had to really fight to stay in the match. Other than that, we were quality and deserved a victory. We are learning every game and the progress is evident. The work rate and commitment levels were at a higher level than ever before."
Since Queens joined the SAC prior to the start of the 2013 season, Anderson and Queens have played to identical 1-1 ties. The draw also marks AU's sixth draw in its last 14 conference matches.
Anderson looks to get into the win column on Saturday when it welcomes Mars Hill in the second leg of a three-match homestand. Kickoff from Trojan Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
