EDWARDSVILLE – A late push by the Wilkes women's soccer team resulted in an 81st minute goal by Holly Feese (State College, PA/State College Area) that knotted the game up at 1-1 on Saturday afternoon at Bruggeworth Field. The Colonels would go on to draw with Goucher College by the same score in the final match of their 2023 season.
 
The tie gave Wilkes a 3-6-7 overall record to end the year. They wrapped up their first season in the Landmark Conference at 1-4-4 in conference matchups. The Gophers finished the regular season at 4-5-8 with a 0-4-5 record in the Landmark.
 
The Colonels were able to generate offensive pressure early on in the match, as Jess Shea (Somerset, NJ/Franklin), Erica Feese (State College, PA/State College Area), Aliah Balch (Paupack, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) and Sarah Eliff (Owings, MD/Northern) all fired shots towards the Goucher goal between the sixth and seventh minutes of play.
 
Wilkes goalkeeper Hannah Landis (Red Hill, PA/Upper Perkiomen) was able to keep the Gophers off the score sheet at 8:53 into the match when she grabbed a ball out of mid-air to make the save.
 
The defenses from both teams were successful pinning their opposition up against the touch line, resulting in stop-and-go action for long stretches of the first half.
 
E. Feese attempted to sneak a shot past Gopher goalkeeper Madison Gutierrez's left side, but her bid was turned aside in the 18th minute.
 
Jess Shea (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) fired a laser of a shot towards Gutierrez at 31:08, but the goalkeeper leapt off the ground to stop the Colonel midfielder.
 
The Wilkes offense created another offensive surge in the late stages of the first half, firing two shots on goal within ten seconds of play. The Gopher defense stood tall however, blocking the first attempt before Gutierrez wrapped up the second shot.
 
The Colonels and Gophers remained scoreless after 45 minutes, taking the contest into the half locked at nil-nil.
Lauren Lefchak (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) nearly found the score sheet at 47:12 after firing a shot on goal that grazed the crossbar and deflected out of play. Her opportunity was quickly followed by a bid by Madison Straub (Franklin, NJ/Franklin) that also rang the post.
 
Goucher responded to the Wilkes surge with a shot of their own that  Landis dove on top of at 53:15.
 
The hunger by the Colonels to break the scoreless tie was palpable on the pitch as they relentlessly pursued the ball. Their press created two more scoring chances in the 57th and 58th minute, however both shots sailed wide.
 
The Gophers managed to break the scoreless tie at 74:41, when Cassidy Scott picked up a pass from Calry Stevens off a corner and buried a shot to give Goucher a 1-0 lead.
 
The pace of play was ferocious as Wilkes searched for an equalizer. Their effort was rewarded with just under ten minutes remaining, as H. Feese netted her first goal of the season at 80:01 to erase the Colonel deficit and knot the game at 1 goal apiece.
 
Following Feese's goal, Wilkes received two pivotal saves from goalkeeper Lauren Sweeney (West Chester, PA/West Chester Rustin), who subbed in for Landis midway through the second half. Her back-to-back diving save preserved the tie and gave the Blue and Gold the opportunity to take the lead with under two minutes to go in the match.
 
Despite two late shots by H. Feese, Goucher managed to hang on and take the 1-1 tie to full time.
 
The Wilkes offense recorded 28 shots in their final outing of the season, led by H. Feese and Eliff who both recorded five on the day.  Landis and Sweeney were credited with three and two saves respectively.
 
Taty Jimenez led all Goucher players with two shots on goal. Stevens scored on her only shot of the game. In goal, Gutierrez made eight saves for the Gophers.