Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's soccer team were defeated against the Knights of FDU Sunday evening.
Le Moyne (0-8-3), (0-1-2 NEC)
Starters: McPheron (GK), Brown, Hatch, Day, Sylstra, Cookinham, Vigliotti, LeBlanc, Kantak, Pietrzak, Casey
FDU (4-5-3), (4-0-0 NEC)
Starters: LeBlanc (GK), Garcia, Schlegl, Cardaba, Cvetkovic, Burzaco, Martinez, Ougaard, Salas, Peschetti, Villanueva
Recap:
As NEC play continues, both the Dolphins and Knights entered today's contest looking to add another win under their belt. FDU entered the game following a 3-2 win over Stonehill on Thursday, while Le Moyne entered the match following a 0-0 draw at Delaware State on Thursday.
FDU started the game on the front foot, building its attack utilizing both fullbacks, leaving themselves susceptible to the counter attack from Le Moyne. In the 5
th minute of play, Le Moyne capitalized on the high line from the Knights. As FDU were building out of the back, senior midfielder
Lindsey LeBlanc (Westminster, Mass./St. Bernard's) intercepted a bad touch from FDU, as the ball found the feet of sophomore forward
Alivia Day (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta). Day took on her defender, forcing sophomore back Elisa Garcia to make a challenge, as the ball rolled through the hands of sophomore goalkeeper Rosemarie LeBlanc, giving Le Moyne an early 1-0 lead against the league leaders.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Mikayla McPheron (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy) made her first save of the game in the 9
th minute off a shot headed towards the bottom right corner taken by sophomore forward Marina Burzaco. FDU would add two more shots over the next five minutes, both of which resulted in a goal kick for the 'Phins.
In the 20
th minute, sophomore forward
Nicole Calle (Providence, R.I./Cumberland) made her first appearance of the game. Just over a minute later, she was immediately involved in the action, making a tackle near the midfield line. She collected the ball, before taking on a few defenders and playing a pass to Day, firing a shot with her left foot into the bottom left corner of the net as Le Moyne scored its second goal of the game.
McPheron made her second save of the game in the 23
rd minute of the game after junior midfielder Ana Salas took a shot from distance, headed toward the bottom right corner. Two minute later, freshman forward
Kaitlyn Gilhooly (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive) made her first appearance of the game. Calle recorded another shot in the 28
th minute of play, untroubling LeBlanc of FDU. In the 32
nd minute, freshman midfielder
Grace Gironda (Red Bank, N.J./Middletown South) entered the game.
FDU found its opening goal in the 37
th minute off of a corner kick taken by Salas, as the ball bounced around the box before sophomore midfielder Elana Cvetkovic flicked her header towards senior forward Dominique Liberto, who redirected the ball on frame and passed the hands of McPheron. Following the goal, Le Moyne brought on junior defender
Maria Komala (Warsaw, Poland/LXXXI Liceum Ogolnokszralcace im Aleksandra Fredry/Notre Dame Ohio) and senior midfielder
Alaina Carro (Holland Patent, N.Y./Holland Patent/Wheeling).
The Knights scored their equalizer just 50 seconds before half, after the duo of Burzaco and junior midfielder Katia Cardaba combined a string of passes, before Cardaba collected the ball and putting her shot passed McPheron as the two teams entered halftime with the score knotted at 2-2.
FDU began the second half similar to the first half, utilizing their fullbacks as they built up its attack. McPheron made her third save of the game in the 51
st minute after Garcia took a shot towards the bottom left corner of the goal. Two minutes later, she was called into action again, this time resulting in a more comfortable save after the attempt down the middle of the goal from Cardaba.
In the 57
th minute, Le Moyne brought back on Gironda, alongside junior forward
Hope Adigun (Clay, N.Y./Liverpool) and freshman defender
Giana Cutuli (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico). FDU scored the go-ahead goal just 30 seconds later after Liberto played a ball in behind the back line of the 'Phins, finding the feet of Cardaba who's shot found the back of the net as FDU now led the game 3-2.
In the 58
th minute, the Knights were on the attack again, forcing McPheron to add another save to her tally. As the second half progressed, FDU continued to find its footing, controlling most of the possession and preventing Le Moyne from creating any chances of their own.
McPheron added her sixth save of the game in the 74
th minute off an attempt from junior defender Daniela Peschetti, as her shot went down the center of the goal. McPheron made her seventh and final save of the game in the 80
th minute of the game off an attempt taken by Cardaba who was looking to score her third goal of the game.
The Knights played out the rest of the game clock as the game ended, with FDU taking the points on the road.
Notable Numbers:
What's Next:
The Dolphins are back on the road for game 4 of NEC action against the Lakers of Mercyhurst University. Action is scheduled to kickoff at 1:00 P.M.
