GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Two goals in the first half by Tusculum's Sydney Grant were answered by a pair of second-half goals from West Alabama's Venla Makela as the teams played to a 2-2 draw in their 2023 women's soccer season opener Friday at Pioneer Field.
Grant's goals came 4:50 apart midway through the first half, while Makela connected in a span of 5:25 early in the second half to lift the Tigers (0-0-1) into the deadlock with the Pioneers (0-0-1).
West Alabama outshot Tusculum 14-8 in the match, including a 9-2 margin in the second half. Grayson Patterson finished with five saves in goal for the Pioneers, while Dior Wilson had two stops for the Tigers.
Tusculum had the first scoring opportunity in the third minute as Lakin Pennington took a pass on the wing but fired wide of the far post. Patterson came up with a strong save in the 14th minute as she redirected a shot by Selis Demirici off the crossbar and over the frame.
In the 25th minute, the Pioneers earned a corner kick and converted the goal as the service from Marja Enste went to Grant in the box, who chipped a shot past Wilson for a 1-0 Tusculum lead at 24:45.
Just under five minutes later, two quick passes from Joey Garrett and Wilma Axelsson led Grant behind the defense, and she put her shot behind Wilson to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead at 29:35.
Patterson made her third save of the half in the final 90 seconds as a throw-in went off the head of the Tigers' Sierra O'Grady, forcing Patterson to make a cradling stop.
West Alabama got on the scoreboard at 48:55 as a miscue on the Tusculum defense allowed Makela to collect a free ball and score into an empty net. At 54:20, Makela took a cross from Aileen Charles and beat Patterson for the second time in 5 1/2 minutes to lock the score at 2-2.
Both Grant and Makela had opportunities to finish off a hat trick in the final 25 minutes. Grant had a good short side shot from close range that was batted down by Wilson in the 65th minute, and Makela had the final scoring chance of the match in the 86th minute but was denied by Patterson.
West Alabama had five corner kicks in the match to four for Tusculum, while the Tigers were called for 10 fouls to three for the Pioneers.
Tusculum will travel to Alabama Huntsville on Sunday, Sept. 3 for a 2 p.m. (Eastern) match with the Chargers. UAH defeated Trevecca Nazarene 2-1 on the road in its season opener on Thursday.
