Box Score

 
EASTON, PA – Senior midfielder Meryl Hershfield scored her first goal of the season, helping the NJIT women's soccer team to gain a 1-1 tie with Lafayette Sunday afternoon.
 
The tie pushed the Highlanders' seasonal mark to 2-7-3 overall, while Lafayette's record now stands at 3-5-2.
 
The Highlanders got on the board first in the ninth minute, when Herschfield knocked in the goal off a scramble in front, set up by a fine cross from senior midfielder Erin Morris.
 
“The goal was definitely coming,” NJIT head women's soccer coach Sergio Gonzalez said. “Meryl is a tireless worker who finishes those chances all the time in training. She was able to get that chance in a game and I'm so happy for her, because she deserves it. It was a great goal for her.”
 
But the Highlanders couldn't hold the lead for long. The Leopards got the equalizer just five minutes later, when Jill Dozier knocked in a header from Avery Jackson in the 14th minute, tying the game at 1-1.
 
“Their goal was a little tough,” Gonzalez said. “There was some traffic in front of Sam (NJIT freshman goalkeeper Samantha Bersett) and there was a scramble for the ball. We couldn't clear it.”
 
The Leopards had two golden scoring opportunities back-to-back in the 23rd and 24th minutes, both coming off the foot of Laura Zito, but Bersett came up big with saves each time.
 
Highlander sophomore forward Megan Dellavalle had a good chance in the 39th minute to break the deadlock, but her shot sailed just wide of the goal.
 
Bersett came up big again in the second half, making two saves in the first five minutes, keeping the Highlanders in the match.
 
In the 81st minute, Highlander freshman midfielder Erin Williams-Weir had a tremendous scoring chance, but her shot just missed the goal after Lafayette goalkeeper Lauren Smedley had come out of the goal.
 
Bersett made a save in the first overtime on Zito that would have given Lafayette the victory. Bersett finished the game with seven saves overall.
 
In the 102nd minute of action in the second overtime, Williams-Weir had another chance to give NJIT the lead, but her shot was stopped by Smedley, who had four saves in goal.
 
“It was a great game,” Gonzalez said. “For us to come back from Thursday (the lopsided 5-0 loss at Dartmouth) and play like we did today is great. There were no lingering issues from Thursday. We played a great soccer game and the draw is a pretty fair result. I think we played well, especially having some players come back from injury.”
 
Freshman midfielder Alex Adam returned to action after missing some time with injury.
 
“Our overall numbers were better and we were able to run players in and out better,” said Gonzalez, whose team gets a week off to rest and recuperate before facing Penn in Philadelphia next Sunday. “We kept battling today and were very resilient. That's a good sign for a young team. We're seeing them learning and growing and this game was a good example of that.”

Write up courtesy James Hague