Box Score

 | PHOTO GALLERY

BLUEFIELD, Va. – Braley Freire logged the first hat trick of her career on Tuesday night, but visiting Point University managed to rally from two different deficits to send the game into overtime and eventually a 3-3 tie in Appalachian Athletic Conference women's soccer action at the East River Soccer Complex.
 
Bluefield (0-4-1, 0-4-1 AAC) ended the afternoon converting all three of its shots on goal, but was outshot by a 21-8 margin overall by Point University (3-2-1, 0-0-1 AAC), who played just its first conference matchup of the season.
 
Freire found the back of the net in the 6^th minute of play to get BC a 1-0 lead, as Lyndsey Pelletteri sent a clearing ball up the middle of the field. The ball bounded over a Point defender and Freire sent it past the charging keeper for her first tally of the season and just fifth of her career.
 
But, she wasn't done there as just two minutes later Freire provided the finish in the box, this time from a Jessica Newman serve from the left side. Newman's ball went low to the ground and curved into a charging Freire who finished in the right of the net.
 
However, Point became more active when faced with the 2-0 deficit. The team came through in the 20^th minute as Andrea Lopez found the net following a corner kick. Off of Karolina Guzman's entry, the ball was well placed in the front of the goal. Lopez corralled it and slipped it in for the score and made the deficit 2-1 for the Skyhawks.
 
Celly Ruiz tallied the tying score as a strong transition run led to the score. After a quick clear, Nery Martinez gathered the ball on the left side of the box. With a couple quick touches, she sent it across the top of the box to Ruiz, who sent it past BC's Brandi Anderson to pull the game to 2-2 in the 24^th minute.
 
After four rather quick goals, both teams settled in with the next score not coming until the 77^th minute. Freire broke the tie as BC cashed in on its own corner opportunity. Tori Doyle made the quick entrance to begin the play. Freire took a couple quick touches and fired the shot into the far upper-90 to make it 3-2.
 
Point responded just four minutes later in the 81^st minute as Ruiz scored her second of the afternoon. Following a free kick, Bluefield made several clearing attempts, but the Skyhawks continued to send it back in the box. On the second attempt, Ruiz picked up a deflecting ball in front of the net and converted to square the game, 3-3.
 
BC's Anderson made a save on the only remaining shot to be on frame in the final 10 minutes and the game moved on to overtime.
 
In the first extra period, Point outshot BC 3-1, but only one was on frame and Anderson tallied another stop. Bluefield had appeared to take the victory with approximately three minutes remaining, but a Pelletteri goal following a corner kick was disallowed because of an offside player affecting the play.
 
Bluefield had another chance early in the second overtime period, but Kali Furry's shot sailed high. Ruiz added two shots for Point, but defenders Doyle and Pelletteri blocked the attempts. Another attempt from Martinez went wide while a corner kick from Doyle as time wound down stood as the final opportunity for a goal.
 
Anderson closed the afternoon with six saves for BC, while Point's Natalie Brown made no saves on the way to the tie result.
 
Despite being outshot by 13, the shots-on-goal figure was just six in Point's favor, 9-3.
 
Bluefield had six corner kicks to five for the Skyhawks, while Point was called for 10 fouls to BC's eight. The Lady Rams were called offsides four times and Point three.
 
Bluefield returns to action on Sunday, traveling to face Reinhardt at 1 p.m. in it's sixth-consecutive AAC game to open the season.