TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo's home opener vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday ended with a 1-1 tie but the Rockets literally came within inches of a victory.

Graduate student Ashton Cassel unleashed a shot at the horn, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar, leaving the Rockets (0-1-2) and the Mastodons (1-1-1) deadlocked in a contest that was thoroughly dominated by Toledo. 

Purdue Fort Wayne's Marisa Metzger opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a shot that cleared to the top right corner of the net. The Rockets were awarded a penalty kick at the 26th minute, and sophomore Olivia Dault converted the shot to tie the score at 1-1. Toledo had most of the good scoring chances the rest of the way, leading up to the final attempt by Cassel.

Toledo had a season-high 20 shots, with 11 on goal, compared to PFW's four shots with two on goal.

"I am proud of how our team responded today after the tough loss against Illinois," head coach TJ Buchholz said. "We had some great chances in front of the goal, but just couldn't put them away tonight. I give a lot of credit to Purdue Fort Wayne's defense and goalkeeper. They did a good job of frustrating us in front of goal.

"We will build on this game and get ready for a good Indiana State team on Sunday."

Goal and Key Moments

• 13' | GOAL Marisa Metzger put Purdue Fort Wayne on the board with a shot to the top right corner above Karson Hill's reach.
• 26' | GOAL A foul by PFW's Tia Johnson gave the Rockets a penalty kick. Olivia Dault sent the ball to the bottom right to tie the game 1-1.
• 55' | Toledo was awarded an indirect free kick, but Dault's shot went high right above the crossbar.
• 90' | Following a hurried attempt by the Rockets to get the ball in play, Ashton Cassel let loose a bullet right before the horn, but it hit the top right crossbar and fell harmlessly to the ground.

Stats, Notes and Numbers

• Dault's goal was her first of the season, and seventh goal in her career. She is also 1-of-2 in penalty kick attempts in her career.
• Dault (7), Morgan Otteson (6), Stephanie Currie (3), and Kaema Amachree (2) all recorded season-high shot attempts.
• Graduate student Vanessa Jones checked into the game for the first time following an injury last season, and graduate student Adele Stradling got her first start since transferring in last season.

Up next
The Rockets will head to Terre Haute, Ind. for Sunday's match vs. Indiana State in Memorial Stadium at 1:00 p.m.