Yarrish, Charikofsky Lead Women’s Soccer in 2-2 Double OT Draw at Alvernia

READING, Pa. - Senior Christina Yarrish (Hummelstown, Pa.) scored two goals - including the equalizer in the 70th minute - while a pair of Goucher College women's soccer goalkeepers made a combined 9 saves to preserve a 2-2, double-overtime draw at Alvernia on Wednesday night.

With the result, Goucher moved to 2-2-1 for the season, while Alvernia went to 0-4-1.

The scoring on the night opened up in the 16th minute, as Goucher was awarded a penalty kick. There, Yarrish buried the scoring chance, giving the Gophers the early 1-0 lead over the host Golden Wolves.

That lead lasted for the Gophers until the 27th minute, where Alvernia scored to make it a 1-1 match. The score held through the rest of the period and went into intermission tied up at 1-1.

To begin the second half, Goucher had several scoring chances stopped at the net. Unfortunately for the Gophers, Alvernia cashed in on an opportunity in the 63rd minute, scoring to take a 2-1 lead.

In the 70th minute, the turning point of the match occurred. There, Alvernia had another great scoring chance, only to be denied by Goucher sophomore goalie Christina Charikofsky (Eldersburg, Md.) to keep the deficit at a goal.

This set-up the Gophers going the other way, and within 28 seconds, Yarrish scored her second goal of the night, this time off an assist from fellow senior Sara Naughton (Simsbury, Conn.) to tie the match back up at 2-2.

For the rest of regulation, both Alvernia and Goucher had scoring chances, but could not convert, sending the match to overtime.

In the overtime periods, it was more of the same, as Charikofsky kept Alvernia off the scoreboard with three combined saves in the final 20 minutes of play. Goucher also had a shot saved, as the match ended after 110 minutes in a draw.

Overall, Alvernia held both an advantage on shots (20-13) and corner kicks (6-2) on the evening. In net, Charikofsky made six saves in relief of starting keeper sophomore Erica Bulzomi (Syosset, N.Y.) over the final 65 minutes of action. Bulzomi, who played the first half, made three saves on the evening.

The Goucher College women's soccer team now has a week off in between matches, returning to the pitch next Wednesday, Sept. 19, at home against Widener. Action at Beldon Field gets underway at 7 p.m.

--GOPHERS--