EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's soccer team got a goal from sophomore Sophia Hudson in the 83rd minute of a 1-1 tie with American at Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium.

The Leopards put themselves behind the eight-ball early when a backwards pass skidded by goalkeeper Maggie Pohl and into the right side of the net just 2:57 into the contest.

"This team is incredibly resilient," senior co-captain Caitlin Balmer said. "We went a goal down and it was a soft goal but we fought back hard, stayed strong and were able to contain it to just the one goal."

Lafayette responded with five shots from five different players over the next 10 minutes. One of the attempts sailed high and the other four were corralled by Eagles keeper Ryleigh Brown. 

Pohl was instrumental in ensuring the the deficit was only one at intermission as she stoned American's Alysa Vasquez from point blank range in the 17th minute.  Freshman Natalie Neumann was credited with five saves in 65 scoreless minutes in the second half and overtime.

For a stretch it seemed as though the equalizer may never come as the Leopards built onto their shot advantage but struck a couple of shots that either hit or grazed the posts.

With just under eight minutes remaining, junior Krista Kissell sent a ball into the box which Hudson chipped up in the air and then headed it into the left side of the net past Brown.  It was the second goal of the season for Hudson and fifth assist for Kissell.

"We have some experienced players on the team and after they scored there were still 87 minutes to play," head coach Mick Statham said. "Once we got into halftime and settled down a little bit I think we came out in the second half and overtime and played pretty well."

Lafayette is now 6-4-3 on the season and 2-1-2 in the increasingly competitive Patriot League standings. American is 5-6-3 overall and 0-2-3 in the league. 

Next up for the Leopards is a trip to Loyola Maryland for a Saturday afternoon Patriot League match at the Ridley Athletic Complex.