The women’s soccer team continued its undefeated start to the season with a 1–1 tie against Sacred Heart in a game that was cut short by rainy conditions on Tuesday night at Reese Stadium.

Though the Pioneers (2–1–1) held a 1–0 lead through the entire first half, the Bulldogs (1–0–2) came back to tie the game in the 63rd minute on a goal from freshman forward Meredith Speck ’15. Due to heavy rainfall, both teams mutually agreed to suspend the game with 19 minutes left on the clock.

“Under the circumstances, we’ll take the tie because we didn’t finish the game,” head coach Rudy Meredith said. “I don’t think we played particularly well today, but in the scheme of things, it’s okay.”

Sacred Heart got on the board first after defender Lauren Boccio found the back of the net in the 19th minute. The goal was set up by a free kick from defender Alyssa Brandofino, who placed her shot in front of the far post, allowing Boccio to chip it past goalkeeper Adele Jackson-Gibson ’13.

The Elis nearly tied it at the 32:19 mark when forward Kristen Forster ’13 rocketed a shot from the top of the box, but Sacred Heart goalkeeper Sydney Judkins managed to get a piece of it and send it over the net.

Yale quickened the pace of the game after halftime and manufactured quality scoring chances early in the second half. In the 49th minute, Speck took a shot from inside the box that was stopped by Judkins. The ball rebounded to midfielder Enma Mullo ’12, whose low shot went just wide of the net. The Bulldogs finished the game with a 15-5 edge in shots.

Yale scored the equalizer after Speck took a cross from fellow freshman Melissa Gavin ’15 and slid it into the lower left corner of the net for her second goal of the year. The assist gave Gavin her first career point.

“[Speck and I] combine a lot on the field, so I kind of saw her and knew that she would finish it,” Gavin said.

All three of the Bulldogs’ goals this season have come from freshmen.

The field conditions worsened as the game went on, with rain continuing to pour down on the artificial turf. Puddles littered the field and slowed down passes. At times, the ball even came to a full stop.

“We’re a really possession-oriented team, so when the ball was stopping on the ground it was really hard for us to pass the ball around, so we kind of resorted to kicking it long which isn’t really our style,” Gavin said. “I don’t think that helped us.”

The game was finally suspended in the 71st minute, ending the game in a tie. Meredith said he believes the abbreviated contest might help the team in the long run, as the team was playing its third game in five days.

“In the long term it was probably a good thing for us because we didn’t have to play a whole 90 minutes,” he said. “Now our kids can recover a little bit and get ready for the weekend.”

The Elis return to action this Friday when they travel to New Jersey to face Rutgers. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in New Brunswick.