The AU Women's Soccer team lost an emotional and intense game against conference rival Colgate University, 2-1, at Reeves Field Saturday. This is AU's second straight loss to Colgate. The Raiders' victory broke the Eagles' four-game winning streak.
Colgate was more fundamentally sound throughout the match. It won the majority of 50/50 headers, spent more time pressuring AU than defending and had more shots on goal.
AU sophomore goalie Allison Doyle faced constant pressure throughout the game. She made seven saves on 13 Colgate shots. AU had seven shots in the game.
Colgate first scored in the 28th minute. AU tied it when sophomore Jana Lee scored off a header in the 65th minute. But less than three minutes later, Colgate took back the lead with a header of its own, from a crossing corner kick.
The Raiders simply outplayed the Eagles and showed more passion through 90 minutes than did the home side.
"We didn't play well obviously," AU coach Michael Brady said. "We let them dictate the emotion of the game."
Brady tried to change the tempo of the game by making eight substitutions. AU and Colgate were very aggressive on the field, and many girls had trouble getting up after slide tackles or challenges from the other team. Screams of frustration could be heard from AU players as they tried to get a goal at the end.
The Eagles only have a few days to regain confidence for their next game. "This is a really hard loss for us," Brady said. "We don't have much time to get ourselves back on track."
AU is now 8-2-1 this year and second in the Patriot League. It next plays another conference game on Tuesday against Navy at Reeves Field.
