SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team staved off a sharp attack from No. 5 Gannon University in a 1-1 draw, picking up its best result against a top-five opponent in eight years Wednesday at James Egli Field.
 
The Rock extended their undefeated streak at James Egli Field to 14, moving to 3-2-3 on the year and 3-1-2 within the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division. The nationally ranked Golden Knights settled for their second tie in a row, now 5-0-2 overall and 3-0-2 in PSAC West competition.
 
Sydney Patrick scored her second goal of the year when she headed in a cross by Olivia Yoder in the 53^rd minute. Gannon increased the attack by outshooting The Rock 13-3 in the second half, finding an equalizer in the 81^st mark of the game.
 
SRU did not possess the ball as much as a 6-1 first-half lead in shots would indicate but began to find its groove in a scoreless opening 45 minutes regardless.
 
Patrick led Slippery Rock alongside Morgan Sarver and Libby Zacharyasz, all of whom contributed two shots. Both of Patrick's attempts were on target, the lone SRU player with more than one shot on goal.
 
Yoder, Nina King and Sophia Palermo each aided the offense with one shot, all of which forced a GU save. Leah Allman made five stops while playing the full 90 minutes in net.
 
Gannon goalkeeper Morgan Sinan was pressured early on, needing to make two saves in the first 16 minutes including a promising look from Palermo that forced a diving stop.
 
SRU's defense, led by King, Faith Diffenbacher and Sydney Smith, entered halftime with confidence after holding the Golden Knights – who entered the game ranking sixth in Division II with 20.3 shots per game – to just one look at the net in the first 45 minutes.
 
Patrick broke through a staunch Gannon defense 7:25 into the second half to give Slippery Rock a 1-0 lead. Yoder lobbed a cross into the middle of the penalty box, where Patrick sent a header toward the net. Sinan got a touch to it but could not fully stop Patrick's strike that gave Gannon its second deficit in a game since the D-II Quarterfinals a year ago.
 
That goal spurred the Golden Knights to make some offensive adjustments and begin battling more aggressively, taking 12 of the game's next 13 shots. An unlucky touch from SRU's defense bounced in favor of Aubrey Pyne, who was able to slot a near-range shot past Allman to tie things up at 1-1.
 
SRU's final opportunity came on a shot from Zacharyasz in the 83^rd minute, but The Rock had to defend a Gannon corner that was set up with 53 seconds left to survive the draw.
 
With the final whistle, Gannon found itself with leads in shots (14-9) and corner kicks (8-3). Both sides took six shots on goal. Brooklyn Respecki placed a match-leading three of her six total shots on target, while Sinan made five saves for GU.
 
Slippery Rock will continue its homestand by hosting California (Pa.) 1 p.m. Saturday at James Egli Field in its annual Bobby McGraw Memorial Game.





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