ITHACA, NY - An elite defensive effort from the Alfred University women's soccer team led to a scoreless draw against Ithaca College on Tuesday evening. 

The Saxons (5-0-1, 1-0 Empire 8) forced their second draw in program history against the Bombers (4-0-2, 0-0 Liberty League), successfully defending 31 shots as part of their efforts. 

Kiani Barnard-Pratt (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) led Alfred University with a season-high 14 saves. The shutout for Barnard-Pratt marks her third of the fall season and the 17th of her collegiate career. Isabelle Dennis (Livonia, NY/Livonia) was the lone Saxon to record a shot on goal. 

"I thought the team really bought into our game plan and showed a lot of work rate for 90 minutes," Head Coach Craig Yanni said. "Kiani really stayed strong for us in goal today."

The defense for the Saxons was put to test early in the non-conference matchup, with Barnard-Pratt recording a pair of saves within the first five minutes of action. A deep free kick from Nyah Solly (Colden, NY/Springville-Griffith Institute) made its way to Dennis, who attempted a header that was ultimately saved by Ithaca in the 23rd minute. The Saxons continued to defend a variety of shots from the Bombers before going into halftime with neither side getting on the scoreboard. In the second half, Sidney Khuns (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) had a brief opening within the right side of the penalty box before the shot attempt was blocked by Ithaca. The Bombers continued to put the pressure on AU's defense with six shots across the final 10 minutes of regulation, but standout defense allowed the Saxons to walk away with the draw. 

Alfred University will next resume Empire 8 competition at home against Russell Sage as part of their Saxon-for-Saxon on Saturday night at 6:00 PM.