CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior Crystal Mackezyk (Columbia, Tenn.) buried a penalty kick in the 88th minute Wednesday night for her second goal of the game and the Mocs earned a 3-3 draw against Alabama A&M at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs move to 1-7-1 overall and close out the non-conference slate. The Bulldogs, still looking for its first win, are 0-8-1 on the year. Chattanooga will open Southern Conference play against Samford Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
Mackezyk scored the game's first goal with a header in the net on a free kick from sophomore Hailey Callis (Jackson, Mo.) on the right side. The Bulldogs scored two more goals in the opening period to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Margret Sesay tied the game at the 36:45 mark on a pass over the middle from Ana Huertas. Huertas connected on a penalty kick just before the half to take the lead. In the 58th minute, Huertas put the game a bit out of reach with her second goal of the game to give Alabama A&M a 3-1 lead.
Freshman McKenzie Gregg (Newport, Tenn.) pulled the Mocs to within one goal with a shot from 25 yards out and over the line to make it 3-2 in the 80th minute. A foul in the box as the game was drawing to a close gave the Mocs a penalty kick. Mackezyk lined it up and shot it into the bottom left of the goal for the draw.
The two teams battled it out in overtime with the Mocs having a 4-1 shots advantage, but unable to find the net. Chattanooga just missed a chance in the second overtime as the ball was just out of the reach of Mackezyk's outstretched foot.
“If Crystal gets even a toe on that ball, it's a goal,” said UTC Head Coach J.D. Kyzer of the near miss.
Chattanooga outshot the Bulldogs 23-17 for the game with Gregg taking six while Mackezyk had four tries with three on goal and two goals. A&M's Estelle Esperance and Fatmata Mansaray each had six shots. The Bulldogs had a 7-2 corner kick advantage.
Chattanooga keeper freshman Hannah Dunn (Cookeville, Tenn.) had seven saves while A&M's Marissa Oehler made four.
The Mocs will kick off Sunday at 2 p.m. against Samford to open the SoCon slate. Admission is free and concessions will be available. The gate (located on the South Entrance) will open one hour prior to kickoff.?
