RIPON, Wisconsin – Despite striking first and holding a lead in the second half, the Ripon women's soccer program had to settle for a 1-1 tie against Illinois College on Saturday afternoon at Prairie Field in the Midwest Conference opener for both teams.
 
After a scoreless first half, Ripon's best scoring chance of the day came in the 51st minute. Kaley Kowal was stuffed at the front of the net, but Martina Palazzolo took the rebound and found paydirt of the net to give Ripon (4-1-3, 0-0-1 MWC) a 1-0 lead early into the second half. This was the freshman's second goal of the season.
 
Illinois College (3-4-1, 0-0-1 MWC) would not go away, however. The Lady Blues had a host of scoring chances in the first half, but couldn't convert until the second half in the 67th minute. Olivia Ralston took the ball near midfield and drove all the way into the box, shooting and scoring for the equalizer.
 
IC had a 23-12 advantage in overall shots, but shots on goal were even at 8 apiece.
 
Kowal led the Red Hawks with 3 shots, while Palazzolo and Alyssa Klementzos each had 2.
 
Andreanna Wilke played all 90 minutes in goal and tallied 7 saves.
 
UP NEXT: Ripon ends its five-match homestand on Tuesday (September 26) as the Red Hawks square off against MWC foe Lake Forest. First touch from Prairie Field is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. This will be Ripon's final match at Prairie Field this season before moving to Hopp Stadium for all October matches.
 
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