OAK CREEK, Wis. — The Milwaukee Area Technical College women's soccer team took another significant step forward Saturday, earning a 1-1 draw at home against South Suburban, a squad that entered the match 6-1 and riding a five-game win streak.

"South Suburban is a high-quality team, and they had a much deeper bench than we did," Stormers assistant coach Sarah Sweeney said. "We had two subs; they had a full bench. I think it speaks volumes about the heart of this team. They have grit and resilience like I haven't seen in a long time, and they play for each other more than anything."

Fueled by tenacious defense, the Stormers overcame limited offensive chances. In the opening half, MATC managed just one shot — a shot on goal — while allowing South Suburban to fire off 10 shots, five of which were on frame. Neither team found the net before halftime, sending both sides into the break tied 0-0.

Less than a minute into the second half, the Bulldogs jumped ahead 1-0 after Karen Zepeda connected with Galilea Esparza, who tucked a shot into the top right corner past MATC goalkeeper Caroline Buczynski.

The Stormers responded quickly. At the 51-minute mark, sophomore Katelyn Haeft buried a penalty kick to level the score at 1-1.

"Haeft has consistently shown that she's mentally tough enough to take those PKs," Sweeney said. Neither team converted on its remaining chances. Buzczynski finished with 12 saves — six in each half.

"We knew we needed to be a bit more defensive, and they executed that game plan well," Sweeney said. "When we had attacking moments while playing defensively, we needed to capitalize — and we did once. I'm proud of the girls for that."

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MATC (3-0-2) will host Bryant & Stratton at 4 p.m. Wednesday.