Goshen, IN — When the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard at the Goshen College Soccer Complex Wednesday night, the Leafs’ women’s soccer team had just finished playing its sixth consecutive match without scoring a goal.

Interestingly enough, smiles abounded from the team as it trotted off the field.

Goshen (4-9-1, 1-4-1) put forth an incredible defensive effort against Mid-Central Conference foe University of St. Francis Wednesday night, holding the visiting Cougars scoreless for regulation soccer and two overtimes to come up with a 0-0 result. Despite surrendering 16 shots on goal and 17 corner kicks on the evening, Goshen was able to stand firm and thwart all St. Francis attacks, leaving head coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj beaming.

“Any time you can get a tie against a St. Francis team and keep them from scoring, you have to celebrate as though it is a victory,” Mounsithiraj said following the match. “Our players did many things right. I am very proud of players' effort and courage tonight. They were able to muster up the confidence and the courage to play against a very good soccer team despite our disappointment with our previous close losses. It really was a fabulous effort.”

Both St. Francis and Mother Nature threw everything it had at Goshen during the match, as an intermittent rain turned to a blinding sleet midway through the second half. Conditions calmed only slightly for the remainder of the match, as gusty winds and a slippery field made the judgment of ball travel difficult at best.

St. Francis opened the match with a surge, testing sophomore keeper Emmy Gibson from the outset. Gibson — who played remarkably in her own right — was backed by stellar performances from senior sweeper Hannah Eash, sophomore Amy Clem and freshmen Allison Yoder, Britt Wyse and Ali Gotwals.

“St. Francis came out very strong and methodical in their attack, as usual,” Mounsithiraj said. “Their forwards are very skillful and fast. Our defense gave everything they had and then more. Hannah and company organized very well as St. Francis was unrelenting in their attack throughout the match. Allison Yoder, I thought, did an excellent job tonight in one versus one situations against their forward. We are becoming more effective in cleaning up clearance in the defending third. As the match continued Emmy Gibson’s confidence just got better and better, making some tremendous saves. Once she starts making plays, that's when she is at her best.”

Gibson had saves of every description on the night, each one making the Cougars’ sideline more visibly frustrated. Gibson stopped line drive shots by diving left and right. She extended fully to thwart high shots at the crossbar. She came out and challenged attacking forwards on a countless number of occasions, concluding the match muddied and bloodied.

Perhaps the Leafs’ greatest defensive performances came when Gibson was only able to deflect the ball back into play, leaving an unguarded net for St. Francis to operate to. Eash and company came up with several great plays, deflecting Cougar shot attempts while Gibson was on the ground, still recovering from making a diving save just moments earlier.

“Emmy had an absolutely awesome game,” said Tera Franklin, Goshen assistant coach. “It was maybe the best of her young career. Hannah Eash was amazing as well. We battled throughout the entire game and our defense came up with big stop after big stop. We made a few great saves when Emmy was caught out of the goal. It was a total team effort.”

While St. Francis dominated play on Goshen’s half of the field for the majority of the contest, the Leafs did take advantage of several counter attacks in the second half to register two shots on goal and a pair of attacks that sailed wide and high, leaving the crowd at the complex gasping. Freshman Kaylee Pichardo took a beautiful through ball from freshman Liz Nafziger midway through the second half, only to sail her shot wide. Pichardo had the greatest chance at a score with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, however, when a couple nifty moves got her by the Cougars’ sweeper and keeper to have an open look at the St. Francis net. Unfortunately, Pichardo’s angle was too flat, causing her shot to cross the face of the goal, being cleared by a USF defender on the opposite side.

“We had four quality chances on their goal,” Mounsithiraj said. “In addition to Kaylee’s two looks, (junior) Lucy Roth received a drop ball from (junior) Sara Groff outside of the 18(-yard box), Lucy made a solid contact with the ball but the shot just went wide. Ali Gotwals also had a shot at goal from her midfield position. Her shot just deflected off of a defender. Ali certainly has the ability to hit it from afar.”

Gibson was credited with 16 saves on the evening, her highest mark of the season to date.

“It was one of those matches that seemed surreal,” Mounsithiraj said. “We played for 110 minutes and yet it went by very quickly. Hopefully we can use this momentum to get ready for Marian this Saturday.”

Goshen will next host MCC foe Marian College Saturday at 1 p.m.