ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - Despite holding an 11-5 advantage in shots, Catholic drew Elizabethtown, 0-0, on the road on Wednesday evening.
The Cardinals now sit at 5-5-3 on the season while Elizabethtown is now 7-3-3 after the draw. After five Landmark Conference contests, the Cardinals sit seventh at 1-2-2 while the Blue Jays hold third place at 2-1-2.
Wednesday marked the eighth clean sheet of the season for the Cardinals and junior goalie
Ava Rieger. Rieger entered the contest 10th in Division III with seven shutouts and will move up nationally while also moving into a tie for second in Catholic history with 20 career shutouts.
Casey Sommers' team remains staunch on the defensive end, now allowing just seven goals in 13 games (0.54/game).
As usual, Catholic received a steady 90 minutes from junior captain
Teighan Boyle on the back line while freshmen
Avery Bowman and
Kaitlyn Houri continue to excel in expanded roles defensively.
Offensively, Catholic totaled three shots on goal with two coming from
Isabel Doherty who played 76 minutes for the Cardinals.
Katarina Bauer had the other shot on goal off the bench for Catholic.
Sommers trimmed the rotation down to 16 players on Wednesday with
Savannah Hensley's 26 minutes the most of the reserves.
Rieger made saves in the 14th and 41st minutes of the contest, stopping shots from Jenna Hoffmann and Olivia Herbert. Rieger did not face any shots on target over the final 49 minutes of action.
Aside from Catholic's shots on target, Boyle just soared the ball on top of the net on a free kick in the 69th minute. Doherty's second shot on target was saved by Adrienne McGallicher in the 78th minute to keep the match scoreless.
Catholic enters an important stretch for its Landmark Conference hopes with four conference matches remaining. The Cardinals will travel to Lycoming this weekend before playing its final four contests on home turf.