ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Freshman Samantha Awe scored the equalizer in the 81st minute, while senior Colleen Fleming posted 10 saves in her first career appearance in goal, including four in the second overtime, to help the Gators to a 1-1 draw at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

After RIT scored the game's first goal with 29 minutes left in regulation, Awe chipped in a shot over the Tiger keeper to even the score at one.  The Gator defense then withstood seven shots over the two overtimes to escape Rochester with the tie.

The opening stages of play belonged to the Tigers, who kept the offensive pressure on the Gators throughout.  RIT posted four shots and four corner kicks over the first 20 minutes of play, but the Allegheny defense was up to the task, keeping the match scoreless.

The Gators regrouped, and received a pair of scoring chances midway through the opening stanza, but shots by Kayla Redner and Taylor Renk were each turned away by Tiger keeper Sienna Fisher.  Play would even out over the latter stages of the half, with each team tallying one shot over the final 13 minutes, with Fleming turning in her third save of the half in the 32nd minute, and the Gators' Sarah Donohue's shot with five minutes left going wide.  

The second half started off in much of the same fashion as the first, as the Tigers tallied five shots in the first eight minutes, with three going wide and two more blocked by the Allegheny defense.  The hosts would eventually find the scoreboard with the game's first goal with 29 minutes left in regulation, as Abby Saia dribbled through the defense and found the lower corner of the goal to put RIT up 1-0.

The Tigers kept the pressure up, forcing Fleming to make two more saves over the next six minutes, before the Gators went on the attack.  With just over 12 minutes left, a shot by Jessie Thiessen went wide, but Allegheny was able to quickly get the ball back deep in RIT territory, leading to a corner kick by Redner.  After sending her attempt in, Awe gained possession, and chipped the ball over Saia from 20 yards out and into the net to even the score at 1-1 with 11:38 left to play.

RIT would again take control, maintaining possession for most of the final six minutes of the half.  A Tiger shot in the 84th minute was blocked, and another went wide 30 seconds later, before Fleming posted her fifth save of the day with just 23 seconds left to preserve the tie and send the match into overtime.

After a defensively-themed opening nine minutes of the first extra session, Fleming came up big once again with a denial of a header on the doorstep with 15 seconds left to send the game into a second OT.  

The Tigers kept possession for the duration of the second overtime, but Fleming continued her strong afternoon to keep the score even.  The senior, who was pressed into keeper duty after spending the entirety of her three-year career as a defensive midfielder, turned in a pair of saves in a 30-second span in the 105th minute, before making her 10th and final stop of the afternoon with 84 seconds left to play to preserve the hard-fought tie.

RIT ended the day with a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks and a 23-8 margin in shots, with Renk pacing the Gators with three attempts.

The draw moves the Gators' record to 0-1-1 after the opening weekend of play.  Allegheny will have a six-day respite before returning to action on Saturday, Sept. 10, when they travel to Cleveland to face off against Case Western Reserve.