EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — Mari Williams scored her 20th goal of the season, Maya Maldonado equalized in the 74th minute, and the Indiana University Northwest women's soccer team rallied twice to earn a 2-2 draw with St. Francis (Ill.) on Tuesday in its regular-season finale.
St. Francis struck first. Carisma Rosales sent a shot from 20 yards into the top right corner in the eighth minute to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. IUN pushed back immediately, and the RedHawks went on to take 13 first-half shots. Ava Haluska put two corner kicks into the box early, and Williams, Xiomara Santana and Haluska all tested St. Francis goalkeeper Giselle Mata before the equalizer came in the 24th minute. Williams converted a penalty kick to make it 1-1 and give her 20 goals on the year.
The RedHawks continued to dominate the shot column after halftime, but the second half brought frustration. Williams' penalty-kick attempt at the start of the half went high, and St. Francis took a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute when Sofia Velazquez finished off an assist from Citlali Perez. Williams hit the post in the 68th minute as IUN searched for an answer.
It arrived in the 74th minute. Erin Harrison found Maldonado, who finished for her 14th goal of the season to level the match at 2-2. The RedHawks kept pressing for a winner, and Maldonado rattled the crossbar in the 80th minute, but Mata and the St. Francis defense held on for the draw.
IUN outshot St. Francis 28-12 and held a 4-0 edge in corner kicks. Williams led all players with nine shots, and Maldonado added seven.
The result ended Indiana Northwest's eight-game winning streak and left the RedHawks at 8-1-1 in conference play. They now turn to the postseason for the second consecutive year, this time at the other end of the bracket as the No. 2 seed. IUN hosts No. 7 Viterbo on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at East Chicago Central High School. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CST.
