TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo opened its 2021 season with a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday night.

The Rockets and Mastodons played a closely contested game through 90 minutes of regulation and an an extra 20 minutes of overtime. Both teams had chances to score but the contest remained in a scoreless deadlock, giving each team a tie to begin the season. 

"I am proud of how our team played tonight," said Head Coach T.J. Buchholz. "It is never easy to go on the road and get a result against a quality Purdue Fort Wayne team. We had some great opportunities to score, but just couldn't put it away. Defensively, I was very proud of how well our back line played tonight. McKenna Schultz and Emma Boutorwick played the entire game for us and they both played tremendously well. We will build on today and get better going forward."

Goals and Key Moments

• 14' | Emma Boutorwick tallied the first save of the season for the Rockets to keep it scoreless in the early going.
• 15' | Toledo countered following the Boutorwick save, with Ellie Pool nearly scoring the first goal of the season. Purdue Fort Wayne goalkeeper Samantha Castaneda used outstretched fingers to knock the ball above the net.
• 20' | Ashton Cassel fired a rocket towards the Mastodons goal, but the Castaneda was able to smother the attempt. 
• 26' | After a yellow card was issued against the Rockets, Boutorwick made another crucial save.
• 31' | Pool once again was inches shy of registering the first goal of the season. With a solid attempt, Castaneda was just barely able to get a hand on the ball to stop the shot. 
• 50' | The Rockets were able to put the ball into the net, but an offsides call caused the score to be waved off. 
• 62' | Pool logged another shot on goal, but it was knocked away before being kicked over the goal.
• 77' | The Mastodons nearly got a clear look at the goal late, but McKenna Schultz was able to get in the way to ward off a shot attempt.
• 86' | Cassel fired another shot that went off the Castaneda's fingers and rang off the crossbar, but the ball couldn't find a way into the net.
• 95' | Moving into overtime, Purdue Fort Wayne had two corner kick opportunities and a near one-on-one, but the Toledo defense stood strong and held off the attempts.
• 109' | In the second overtime,  the Rockets had a corner kick, with multiple players getting a touch near the goal, but none were successful in finding the target, sealing the 0-0 tie.

Stats, Notes and Numbers

• Toledo goalkeeper Emma Boutorwick tallied four saves to register her second career shutout. The other came last season against Northern Illinois in a 2-0 victory.
• Ellie Pool led the Rockets with career-high five shots, two of which were on goal.
• Three Rocket freshmen logged shots in the contest. Olivia Dault tallied three, one on goal, while both McKenna Schultz and Mia Leonetti each had a pair. 
• With the tie, Toledo begins the season with a record of 0-0-1 for the first time since 2017 when the Rockets tied Detroit Mercy 0-0. The Rockets went on to win the MAC Tournament and received a bid in the NCAA Tournament. 

Up Next

        The Rockets play at Cincinnati on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. before returning to Paul Hotmer Field for the home opener on Thursday, Aug. 26 to host Detroit Mercy in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. 

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