NEWARK, N.J. - The Lafayette women's soccer team battled NJIT to a 1-1 tie in a hard fought match this afternoon at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium. 

Both the Leopards and the Highlanders had opportunities to score in the opening half, but neither could capitalize. Lafayette tested NJIT goalkeeper Molly Saylor, peppering her with eight shots, three of which were on goal.  Saylor finished the half with three saves. Lafayette senior goalkeeper Natalie Neumann faced two NJIT shots and did not have to make a save on either of them. 

A foul by NJIT in the 57th minute led to a Lafayette free kick and on the set piece senior Rory Schauder drove the free kick into the box, where freshman Katrina Santelli headed the ball into the goal past the outstretched arms of Saylor. This was the first collegiate goal for the Pepper Pike, Ohio native. 

NJIT's Caroline Caputo drew a Lafayette foul in the box in the 64th minute and the Highlanders were awarded a penalty shot. Caputo took the shot and rocketed the ball into the left corner of the goal, out of the reach of Lafayette junior goalkeeper Lindsay Dewar, tying the match 1-1. In the remaining 26 minutes of the match, both teams continued to press the action, requiring their respective goalkeepers to make multiple saves.  

The Maroon and White finished the match with 18 shots, of which 11 were on goal, while NJIT completed 11 shots with four on goal. Freshman April McDonald led Lafayette with four shots.  A quartet of Leopards, Santelli, Schauder, Ani Khachadourian and Alexa Jindal, recorded three shots each. Senior Sara Oswald and sophomore Gretchen Waechter both took one shot a piece.  

Neumann played the first 45 minutes in goal and faced two shots.  She was replaced for the second half by Dewar, who recorded three saves. Their NJIT counterpart, Saylor, played the full 90 minutes and was credited with 10 saves.

Lafayette returns to MIke Bourger '44 field at Oaks Stadium on Thursday where they will host the Pirates of Seton Hall at 7 p.m.