INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's soccer team drew with Charleston, 0-0, after two overtime periods at Shawnee Sports Complex on Friday night. The Yellow Jackets proved that they were capable of not conceding in 110 minutes while creating as many as quality chances as their opponents.

West Virginia State concludes its 2021 spring season with a 2-3-2 overall record following the draw. Meanwhile, Charleston will carry on to the postseason after finishing 5-1-2 on the season.

Freshman goalkeeper Christin Walls was the obvious player of the match with a season-high 13 saves on a season-high 27 shots faced. Senior wingers Megan Maslak and Brooklyn Pritt led the WVSU attack by peppering the opposing goalie with six and five shots, respectively. Five of Maslak's shots were on target while only one of Pritt's shots was on goal. However, Pritt had the best chance to score of the game.

In the first half, the Yellow Jackets were the better side on all accounts. Both teams came out with possession-laden game plans. WVSU looked the side in control and successfully kept the ball away from Charleston.

The Golden Eagles were held to four shots in the opening 45 minutes with only one of their shots requiring a save to be made. On the other hand, West Virginia State did well to take seven shots in the first half with four of those shots being on target.

Neither side was able to break the deadlock going into halftime, 0-0.

In the second half, UC came out with a goal in mind and became the aggressor. The Golden Eagles fired off 19 shots in the last 45 minutes and forced Walls to come up with eight saves to keep them off the scoreboard.

There were two pivotal moments for WVSU in the second half. The first came in the 57th minute when defender Savannah Keziah raced back to catch up with Charleston's forward and made a sliding tackle inside the 18-yard box to prevent her from getting in on goal. Despite cries for a penalty by UC, the tackle was perfectly timed, and Keziah met only the ball with her sliding tackle.

In the 68th minute, the best chance for either team to score was taken by a darting Brooklyn Pritt. A through ball was sent in as Pritt was on a run to get past the high line being played by Charleston. She was just onside as the ball was played to her and ended up with an angled shot to the left of goal. With only the keeper to beat, she finessed a shot towards the right post that looked like it was destined for the back of the net. The best chance of the game missed wide right by a slim margin.

After regulation ended without a goal, the match was sent into overtime. Throughout the two ten-minute periods, neither side looked likely to score the golden goal to win it. After West Virginia State proved it was better at possession in the first half and could withstand an all-out attack in the second half, the Golden Eagles were left without a strategy to implement in overtime. The Yellow Jackets clearly came away with a sense of accomplishment following the nil-nil draw.

West Virginia State will look to build on its progress made throughout the 2021 spring season when it gears up for the 2021 fall season next.