KINGSTON, Ont. (September 30, 2016) - The Queen's Gaels (6-2-1) had to settle for a 1-1 draw against the No.2 Ottawa Gee-Gees (9-0-1) on Friday night under the lights at Richardson Stadium. The tie marks the first time this season that Ottawa has not won as they entered the game at a perfect 9-0-0.

GAME FLOW
The game marked history for Queen's as the first night match at the new revitalized Richardson Stadium. With the No.2 team in the nation in town, the Gaels looked to impress the home crowd and hand Ottawa their first loss of the year. 

Early on things were certainly going the Gaels way. Just outside the box Brittany Almeida (Kingston, Ont.) sent a screeching cross towards the front of the Gee-Gees net and Tara Bartram (Vancouver) put the ball to the back of the net with a redirected header putting the home side up 1-0 just seven minutes in.

From there neither side had too much offensive momentum with Ottawa firing three shots at net.

The Gaels nearly made it 2-0 on a similar play to their first goal but Bartram was called offside despite her header reaching the back of the net. The game stayed a 1-0 Queen's as the two teams ended the opening half.

In the second the Gee-Gees stepped up the pressure. Ottawa started putting more shots towards the Queen's net and kept possession in the Gaels end. Off of their first corner of the game in the 63rd minute Emma Lefebvre directed a header towards the middle of the net where a scrum of players were and Sophie Curtis was able to connect for a goal.

As time wound down neither team gave up much defensively and the teams settled with a 1-1 draw. Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) finished with five saves on the night for Queen's.

FINAL SAY
"I thought we played really well in the first half. In the second half we lost the flow a little bit but I thought they came on strong so maybe 1-1 was an honest result but going up 1-0 and almost 2-0 you're always disappointed against a very good team to not have got three points. Overall I'm proud of the way the girls worked through 90 minutes." - Dave McDowell, head coach.

BY THE NUMBERS
2 - Ranking for the Ottawa Gee-Gees nationally
1st - Night game ever at the revitalized Richardson Stadium
3 - Goals on the season for Bartram
4 - Games in a row the Gaels have not lost going 3-0-1

UP NEXT
The Gaels are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Ottawa to take on the Carleton Ravens at 1pm.