ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's soccer team opened its 2026 season with a 2-2 draw against neighboring Alfred State College on Tuesday night as part of the Alfred Cup.
"Hats off to Alfred State — they played a great game," Head Coach Craig Yanni said. "We battled for 90 minutes and put forth a good effort, but certainly have things we need to work on. The coaching staff has some work to do to put us in a better position to be successful."
Alfred University recorded its first shot of the game in the opening minutes, as Amber Bates (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) fired a deep attempt. The Pioneers responded with a breakaway down the right side, with a subsequent cross finding the back of the net in the second minute of action.
In the 15th minute, a long pass from Mara Gloo (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) found Ava Thayer (Nunda, NY/Keshequa), who scored on a contested attempt to bring the Saxons level. Three different Saxons recorded shots on goal over the final 25 minutes of the first half, but the teams entered the break tied, 1-1.
Early in the second half, Anna Henner (Williamson, NY/Williamsville Senior) was the final Saxon to deflect the ball into the back of the net following a corner kick, giving AU its first lead of the evening.
The Pioneers earned a penalty kick in the 61st minute, but the attempt went wide right. Roughly six minutes later, Lauren Mott (Cortland, NY/Cortland) came up with a diving save on Alfred State's second penalty kick attempt.
Alfred State eventually found the back of the net off a corner kick in the 73rd minute to even the score at 2-2. The Saxons recorded three shots on goal over the final six minutes, but neither team could find the game-winner as the contest ended in a competitive 2-2 draw.
Alfred University will next travel to face Chatham University on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
--Swords Forward Saxons--
