Drury, Taconic Girls Battle to 3-3 Tie
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- First-year Taconic girls soccer coach Jenna Giardina says her team's goal is "to get better each half."
On Thursday afternoon at Drury, it was mission accomplished for Taconic, which overcame a 2-0 half-time deficit to earn a 3-3 tie against the Blue Devils.
Kristen Borelli scored three goals, and Victoria Serre made eight second-half saves as Taconic improved to 0-4-1.
Borelli's last goal came on a penalty kick awarded with 25 seconds left on the clock after Drury's Jenna Moulton scored her second of the game with 3:27 on the clock to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 lead.
"We talk a lot every day at practice about mental toughness," Giardina said. "We do a job about not letting ourselves get down. We're down [on the scoreboard] a lot, so we're used to it. I guess we have a little advantage there.
"But these girls won't quit. I haven't seen them quit all year, even when we've been down by six."
Drury (0-3-1) jumped out to the lead in the seventh minute when Moulton found Jill Tietgens with a cross from the right wing, and Tietgens beat Ashley Rufo (three saves) for the Blue Devils' second goal of the season.
With about 14 minutes left in the half, Tietgens returned the favor, setting up Moulton for a goal on counter attack.
The speed of Drury's front line caused problems all day for Taconic.
"Jenna and Jill and Celene [Koperek] and Miranda [Wissman] - our forwards moved the ball up, placed them where we wanted to," Drury coach Maryjane Rumbolt said. "We had so many potential shots that we could have gotten. We just didn't finish on them."
Taconic's Borelli finished her first quality chance in the 47th minute, when she took a direct free kick about 35 yards from the goal. She lofted a shot into the upper far corner of the goal over the outstretched hands of Ali Brassard (four saves) to make it 2-1.
Midway through the half, just after the teams paused for one of two water breaks mandated by the officials, Jade Schnauber set up Borelli for a shot from outside the 18 that appeared to tip off Brassard's ands and into the goal to make it 2-2.
Drury nearly broke the tie at the six-minute mark when Olivia Carlson took a free kick from high on the right wing that Serre barely gloved to set up a Drury corner kick.
"That was the best Tori's played all year," Giardina said of Serre's eight saves on nine shots in 40 minutes of play.
Drury finally slipped one past her moments later when Tietgens fed a through ball to Moulton, who finished for her second of the game to make it 3-2.
Taconic was able to mount an attack in the closing moments, and the pressure led to the PK, which Borelli slipped just past the diving Brassard to tie it.
"They played awesome," Rumbolt said of her team. "I cannot ask for them to have played a better game. We just came off three really hard games, and I think that's what pushed us today. We were ready for these guys. This was our game.
"And it came out a tie. I'll take it. I was shooting for a win, but I'll take the tie. It's better than a loss."
Drury travels to face Mount Greylock on Tuesday. Taconic entertains Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday.