Heidi Blankenship earned her fifth shutout of the year, denying eight shots, to lead Georgia State women's soccer to a 0-0 double-overtime tie against George Mason in Panthersville Friday night.
"I think was the most heart we've played with in my nine years here," said Georgia State head coach Domenic Martelli. "We had to show that level of determination to survive to the end of the game. Every player that got in tonight gave all they had. That's how we came away with a tie against a very good George Mason team."
Georgia State moves to 6-4-3 (0-3-2) and George Mason goes to 9-4-1 (1-3-1) with the result.
Though the game ended scoreless, neither team was short on chances. The closest call came in the first overtime when George Mason's Omolyn Davis lobbed a shot over the head of junior goalkeeper Heidi Blankenship just wide of the target.
In the first half, Georgia State's Sarah Bennett had a goal taken away due to an offside.
"It was kind of confusing to have that goal called back," said Martelli, "but that's the way it happened for better or worse. You can't worry about those things because, who knows, if we were given that goal we might have ended up losing 10-1."
The clear star of the game was Heidi Blankenship with her eight saves. Blankenship denied a header from Omolyn Davis in the second half, tipping the ball just high of the crossbar.
"The header on the corner kick was beyond a great save," said Martelli. "The one-on-one at the end of the second half, the consistency on crosses, the long range crosses where she had to knock it wide, she played all of the beautifully. She was so consistent and so in tune with the game tonight. The way she's playing, you just know she's going to make the save."
The Georgia State defense has now accounted for five shutouts in 13 games, already tying their total for the 2007 season.
In the last three games, Georgia State has only allowed one goal, in their loss to James Madison.
"We've defended, in these last three games, as well as we've ever defended at Georgia State," said Martelli. "This was the best group of forwards we've played all year. Our back line of Lani [Huntley], Bri [Cagle], Erin [Hill], Marshett [Clarke] and Virginia [Wood] did an incredible job to stop them. Up front and in the midfield, we played our hearts out. We did today what we've wanted to do for several years, which is getting good results against teams as good as, or better than us."
The school-record for most shutouts as a team in a single-season is 11 in 1997. The Panthers best since joining the Colonial Athletic Association came in 2006 with seven shutouts.
Blankenship eclipsed the 200 career saves mark on Friday night, pushing her career total to 201.
"Tonight was a well-earned, well-fought scoreless tie against a tough, conference opponent. Now we have to go out there Sunday and get those three points against Towson," said Martelli.
On Sunday, Georgia State hosts Towson with kickoff set for 1 p.m. Live stats for the game will be available at www.GeorgiaStateSports.com.
