LYNCHBURG, Va. – Hatter Women's soccer picked up a point on the ASUN Conference table after taking a 1-1 draw from Liberty Thursday night at Osborne Stadium.

"We thought that we could maybe take it towards the end with some counter attacking play but we'll take the point and move on to Queens," head coach Chris Bergmann said "Team defense, we fought hard and you could tell it was a great overall team effort. Scoring first is so important as well so we put them on the defense, and we still created a lot of really good opportunities. At the end of the day, it was a great team effort, we fought hard to get a point on the road and now it's on to Queens."

It took 15 minutes 54 seconds for the first goal of the night. Senior forward Maggie Struble drew a foul just outside the right half of the Flames' goal box. Sophomore defender Kyleigh Thelen hovered over the ball for the free kick. Thelen sent a low cross into the box that deflected off a defender and froze Liberty goalkeeper Ainsley Leja and nestled into the lower right, near post, corner of the goal giving Stetson a 1-nothing advantage.

"I've been looking on that and talking with Coach Lucas [Zicher] and I was just trying to get my body over it because if I get it on target, the deflections happen because I hit it hard enough," Thelen said about her goal "It's happened twice this year and is where both of my goals have happened this year. I gave it the opportunity to go in and I knew we had a man on back post if needed too."

Liberty tied the match on the next shot of the match occurring eight minutes 52 seconds later. Ivy Garner found a pocket of space and sent a high arcing shot over junior goalkeeper Ashleigh Wise that sneaked under the crossbar [1-1] in the 25th minute.

"Our two outside backs really stepped up today," Thelen said of the defensive performance "Sabrina [Comana] had her first start today, and Lea [Alexander], who has been playing up top, both came in, listened and did their jobs. At halftime, we talked about stepping our line up a little bit to where they scored in the first half. I think listening to the coaches for the game plan and following through and staying goal side was another thing. We stayed connected, pinched and stepped when we needed to and took accountability for our actions."

The defenses clamped down after the pair of scores, but each team still created some chances. Wise and Leja marshaled their defenses and throughout the remainder of the match when one keeper would appear beat the defense was positioned to cover. Junior Chloe Washington, in position to defend a corner kick at the goalpost, cleared a ball off the line to prevent a score.

"It was a team effort and everyone played to the last minute," Wise said about the overall defensive effort. "We fought hard and knowing we battled this hard gives me confidence for the team. I think everyone has confidence for the future games knowing that if we keep working and playing to the last minute games are going to go our way. We got a point out of it tonight and everyone should be proud of themselves."

"Kyliegh Thelen put her body on the line for a lot of plays," Wise continued, highlighting Thelen's defensive performance "She recovered when she needed to, she stepped up when she needed to and I had complete trust in her when they were driving at her."

Stetson women's soccer heads south to Charlotte for a Sunday afternoon match with ASUN newcomer Queens University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., at the Queens Sports Complex.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.