St. Joe’s and The Prairie School battled to a 5-5 tie in a match that played out as close on the field as on paper.  The Lancers came into the match 8-1-1 and ranked 6th in the Div. 4 coaches poll; TPS came in 6-1 and ranked #1. Both teams were undefeated in the Metro Classic Conference, and after 90 minutes that remain unchanged with the 5-5 draw.

St. Joe’s stuck first, when Martina H scored off an Elizabeth R assist in the 15th minute.  The Hawks tied the match in the 18th minute off a Sarah K goal. Elizabeth then found the net in 20th minute, this time assisted by Martina, to put the Lancers back on top 2-1.  St. Joe’s then built a 3-1 lead 28 minutes in when Martina scored her second goal of the match off an assist from Ava R.  TPS responded with a goal by Fiona A late in the first half, which brought the halftime score 3-2 in favor of St. Joe’s.  

The Lancers wasted little time again extending the lead in the second half.  Martina was able to break through the back line and was brought down by the goalie resulting in a penalty kick.  Martina converted the PK to give the Lancers a 4-2 lead.  TPS once again responded with a goal by Erin K, cutting the Lancers lead to 4-3.  Once again, St. Joe’s responded in the 61st minute when Ava R perfectly placed a 30 yard direct kick in the upper right corner of the goal, giving the Lancers a 5-3 lead.  TPS managed to score 2 goals in the span of the 66th-68th minutes to tie the match.  Neither team was able to convert a game winner over the final 20 minutes. 

For St. Joe’s, Martina finished with 3 goals, 1 assist (note: Harrington leads the State per wissports.com in goals and points, with 34 and 77 respectively); Ava had 1 goal, 1 assist; Elizabeth had 1 goal and 1 assist.

Coach Gino Alia:  “I was very proud of our effort.  This was a well-played, entertaining match.  We had some great goals and some great defensive efforts, and so did Prairie. For us, this match underscores that, when healthy, we are one of the top teams around, and that we can compete at a high level.  We had our chances, we created some nice opportunities, we faced some adversity, and at the end of the day, kept our composure at a very tough place to play and against a top-ranked team. This experience, and how we performed, should help us as we move on toward the playoffs.”