Concord, NH – The CMCC women's soccer team finished off an unbeaten conference schedule with a 2-2 tie on the road against New Hampshire Technical Institute. The Lynx and Mustangs both finished with identical 5-0-2 records in conference play, but NHTI will have the #1 seed in the upcoming YSCC Tournament courtesy of the sixth tiebreaker – their 2-1 win vs Vermont State University-Johnson, an out of conference common opponent that CMCC tied 2-2 back in September.

The Mustangs took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute against NHTI courtesy of an own goal. Olivia Varney served in a corner kick from the right side that appeared to deflect off the shoulder of Lynx midfielder Piper Flood. The ball flew into the top corner inside the near post and after some initial confusion, and a consultation with his assistant on the far side, the referee signaled the goal was given.

Central Maine had another good piece of fortune in its second goal. In the 22nd minute, Destiny Mooers followed a back pass into the area. Goalkeeper Hailey Knight went to pass it out to her defender, but Mooers got her left boot on it to take it away. After rounding the stranded goalkeeper, Mooers rolled it into the back of the net for her team-leading 11th goal of the campaign.

CMCC appeared to be in cruise control through the hour mark before NHTI found a route back into the game in the second half. Alyviah Blad made a marauding run down the left sideline towards the corner flag before sending a pass back towards the middle of the field. Maggie Brown ran onto it and struck a beautiful one-time shot arcing the ball perfectly into the top corner over a diving Emma Knowles. That cut the lead down to 2-1 in the 63rd minute.

Then disaster struck with 11 minutes to play. Adrienne Dorr played a long ball over the top of the defense that Knowles came out to collect. However, the ball bounced slowly in the tall grass just outside the penalty area. Flood pounced on it before the goalkeeper could clear it away and fired it into the empty net to level the match at 2-2.

A stunned Mustangs team failed to put any additional shots on target the rest of the way, but Knowles recovered to preserve the draw, making a fine save to push another well placed shot over the crossbar in the 84th minute. She finished the day with 10 saves total.

When the final whistle blew, NHTI had the result it needed to earn the regular season crown and the top spot in the upcoming YSCC Tournament via the tiebreaker.

It's the first time in program history Central Maine has gone unbeaten in YSCC play and the second straight year that the tiebreaker has determined whether the Mustangs were the #1 or #2 seed in the YSCC Tournament. Last year CMCC had the benefit of a head-to-head victory over Paul Smith's College to claim the top spot on their way to winning the championship for the first time.

"I think overall I'm happy with how the regular season went with how young our team is," said head coach Rob Rodriguez. "We've still got areas to improve in but have played some very good soccer at times this year."

The Mustangs will open their title defense on Saturday, November 2nd when they play their YSCC Tournament Semifinal against the winner of this weekend's #4 vs #5 seed match-up. This year's championship weekend is hosted at Word of Life Bible Institute in Pottersville, NY.