Radford, Va. - The 2018 Saint Francis women's soccer team's title defense kicked off Thursday night with a 2-2 draw at Radford. Freshman Heather Markiewicz (Darnestown, Md./Northwest) scored a goal less than seven minutes into her collegiate debut and sophomore Mariana Jaleca (Sebtubal, Portugal/) added a second-half goal from the penalty spot.

Van Stralen's Reaction

"I am very pleased with our performance tonight," said head coach Brenda van Stralen. "It was a long day of travel but our team came out and created the better of the chances. Radford is a quality opponent who is very organized but we were able to connect well and were aggressive going to goal."

Turning Point

Neither team could capitalize on their brief leads. Heather Markiewicz (Darnestown, Md./Northwest) put SFU in front in the seventh minute when she forced a turnover by the Radford goalkeeper and finished into an open net. Radford answered just 14 seconds later after they were awarded a penalty. The Highlanders went in front in the 62nd minute before Saint Francis was awarded a penalty kick less than three minutes later. Jaleca answered the bell with her first of the year to level things at 2-2.

Late Onslaught

After Jaleca's equalizer, Saint Francis controlled the remainder of the match. It appeared as if they'd be rewarded after the ref blew his whistle for the third penalty kick of the night and the second for the Red Flash, but senior Shannon McGinnis's (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) shot hit the crossbar. Saint Francis peppered the Radford goals during the overtime period, recording six of the first seven shots before settling for a draw.

By The Numbers

• Radford was outshooting the Red Flash 12-5 at one point in the match but SFU's late onslaught brought the final total to 17-17. Shots on goal narrowly favored Radford,    9-8.
• The Red Flash created seven corner kicks to two for Radford. Three of SFU's shots in the overtime periods came from corner kicks.
• It was a physical contest that saw five yellow cards issued in addition to the three penalties that were conceded. SFU was only issued one caution.

Notes

• It was a promising result for the Red Flash who haven't won a season opener since 2012. Saint Francis went just 4-8-2 on the road last season but earned a hard-fought away result Thursday night.
• Heather Markiewicz (Darnestown, Md./Northwest) became the first player to score on her debut since Tesa McKibben in 2009.
• Redshirt junior Julia Hernan (Collegeville, Pa./The Hill School) made seven saves.
• Junior Alyssa McGhee (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and sophomore Emilee Barnett (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) paced Saint Francis with three shots each. Senior Sara Suler (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory), sophomores Marian Jaleca and Dakota Graham (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) and freshman Corinne Renninger (Bechtelsville, Pa./Boyertown) each added two shots.
• Freshmen Heather Markiewicz (Darnestown, Md./Northwest), Corinne Renninger (Bechtelsville, Pa./Boyertown), Leanna Choo (Germantown, Md./Northwest) and Yngara Pehoua-Dupervil (Germantown, Md./Richard Montgomery) made their collegiate debuts.

Up Next

Saint Francis welcomes Canisius to Loretto on Sunday Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. for its home opener.