Elon Women’s Soccer Battles VCU to 1-1 Draw

RICHMOND, Va. – A late penalty kick in the second half proved to be the difference on Sunday, Sept. 22, for the Elon University women’s soccer team in a 1-1 draw versus VCU on the road.

Trailing 1-0 with less than 10 minutes to play, the Phoenix drew a penalty kick after the Rams fouled the maroon and gold in the box. Elon senior forward Simi Dhaliwal didn’t disappoint, drilling the PK into the back of the net for the score to tie the match at 1-all.

The two teams went scoreless for the remainder of regulation and two overtimes

Elon’s record moves to 5-1-2 with the draw, while VCU goes to 5-4-1.

“We picked up a solid road result today against a dangerous VCU team,” said Elon head coach Chris Neal. “Kate Murphy was excellent in goal today, the best I’ve seen her play all season.”

Maren Johansen put the Rams up 1-0 in the 35th minute after scoring from the center of the box off a previous Murphy save.

The Rams carried a one-goal lead into the half after claiming a 10-1 advantage in shots, putting four on target.

After Dhaliwal’s penalty kick score in the 80th minute, the two teams could not break the tie in overtime. The Rams put three shots on-frame in the second OT, but Murphy corralled every VCU strike. Murphy ended the match with 11 saves.

Chelsey Stark nearly gave Elon the golden goal in OT, but her strike hit off the crossbar.

The Rams finished the game with a 25-10 advantage in shots and a 7-5 edge in corners.

Elon hosts Western Carolina on Sept. 26 at Rudd Field in its Southern Conference opener.