ROCHESTER >> Emma Henry scored with 4:39 remaining and the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks and Rochester Falcons played to a 2-2 tie on Tuesday night as Bloomfield Hills maintained control of the OAA Red title race.

Trailing late, the Black Hawks raced the ball up the right side and Chloe Salo played the ball up to Henry, who ripped a shot from the top of the box into the lower-left corner to draw the Black Hawks level for the second time on the evening.

Rochester had the better of possession for much of the game, although the Falcons struggled to convert that possession into shots on goal. Rochester finished with just three shots on goal, converting two of them.

“We had some really good sequences. There were some good moments where we tried to play a little bit,” Falcons head coach Doug Steinard said. “I think it’s good and all that, having possession, but we have to find a way to manufacture through balls. We had several half-chances, but only a few clear-cut chances.”

The Falcons had taken the lead early in the second half on a penalty kick goal from Kiely Robinson. That broke a 1-1 tie. But eventually, the Black Hawks started getting chances of their own, and while they may not have had the ball as much as the Falcons, they did more with it when they did have it, particularly in the second half. Bloomfield Hills dominated the stat sheet, particularly the shot totals, and created a handful of quality chances in the second half, including hitting a goal post, and forcing Rochester keeper Alice Max into a fantastic stretching save with 25 minutes remaining. Finally, though, the Black Hawks were able to find their equalizer through Henry.

“I think we were a little more dangerous, finding more dangerous spots in the second half,” Black Hawks head coach Alan Zakaria said. “We had our chances. But it’s a game of inches. And I think we were just a little bit more threatening and dangerous (in the second half), whereas things were just a little bit too comfortable for them (Rochester) in the first half.”The Falcons started the game quickly, getting an early goal from Ally Jeric just 9:26 into the game when she took advantage of a miscommunication in the box and stabbed a foot at the ball that beat everyone and found the back of the net, giving Rochester a 1-0 lead.

Bloomfield Hills fired a number shots in the first half, finishing with eight on goal by intermission, though most were from long range and handled easily by Max. However, the Black Hawks did level the score just before halftime when they were awarded a penalty kick with 1:53 left on the clock. Henry stepped up and slotted it into the bottom corner, making it 1-1 headed to halftime.

With the draw, Bloomfield Hills (6-0-2, 3-0-1 OAA Red) maintains control of the league title race thanks to wins already over Troy, Athens and Stoney Creek. The Black Hawks have a non-league game against Fraser on Thursday, then a bye next week in the league. Their next OAA Red game is in two weeks when they face Rochester Adams.

“It was a tough OAA Red game, just what we expect, and games (like) that we want to be involved in to kind of test us and push us to be our best,” Zakaria said. “I’m really proud of the resilience and the ability of our players to play 80 minutes and get a point out of the game today.” He added that, “I’m really pleased with the togetherness and the performance tonight in another big OAA Red game.”

The Falcons (6-0-2, 1-0-2 OAA Red) are still in the league title hunt. Rochester faces Canton at Lawrence Tech University this Saturday in a non-league matchup, then takes on Troy Athens on Monday in its next league contest.

“I think in an OAA Red game, a draw is okay. So you’re not mad. But you’re not excited,” Steinard said. “Overall, just the effort and toughness was there,” he added.

“We aren’t in the driver’s seat (in the league race), but we can kind of control our own destiny. We need a little help, but we’re still in it, and that’s all you can ask for — just be in it every game and keep getting better.”