HAYWARD, Calif. – After an early goal by Holy Names, the Saints settled into the match and were able to stay within striking distance. It paid off in the 76th minute when Jessica Moskowitz drove home the game-tying penalty kick to force a 1-1 draw in the season opener.
 
The Hawks delivered the first blow in the 19th minute on a rebound shot to take the 1-0 lead. Saint Martin's first shot came 23 minutes in the match, with Kiersten Madsen missing wide left. Kendall Kemp recorded the lone shot on goal in the first half, but the Saints were held scoreless in the opening half.
 
Saint Martin's and Holy Names traded shot attempts throughout the first 30 minutes of the second half, with neither one delivering a goal. However, the match turned in the 76th minute, when Moskowitz was fouled in the box, setting up the PK opportunity. Moskowitz drove home her first goal of 2019, and what proved to be the equalizer.
 
Ali Campigotto, who took over at goalkeeper at the start of the second half, helped force overtime in the final seconds of regular time. After a shot rang off the crossbar, Campigotto came up with a game-saving stop on the rebound shot, and sent the match into extras.
 
After a quiet first overtime period, the Saints looked for a golden goal in the final period. A shot from Shea McKnight on target was saved in the 109th minute before her second attempt was blocked from inside the box. The match came to end with score remaining knotted at 1-1.
 
"It's not how you start, but rather how you finish," said head coach Heather Cato. "It was a physical battle from start to finish, and once we realized how the game was going to be played, we never took our foot off the pedal. Our goalies came up huge in each half so we could continue to fight for a result. Overall, we had to grow into the game, which helped us grow as a team. I'm proud of the character we showed and look to forward to the continued growth of the team."
 
Moskowitz accounted for five of the Saints' 12 shots, and two of the five on goal. McKnight had two shots, while four different Saints each recorded one. Sophie Mendoza got the start in goal, going 45 minutes, making four saves, and allowing the one goal. Campigotto finished the final 65 minutes, making the one save, and giving up zero goals.
 
The Saints travel to San Francisco for a match against Academy of Art on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the match will be available on smusaints.com.