After giving up two goals in the first half, the AU women’s soccer team couldn’t make up the deficit and fell, 2-0, at Richmond Sept. 22.
The loss kills the Eagles’ (2-7-2) momentum, after they brought the offense in their two previous matches against D.C. rivals Howard and George Washington.
Becca Wann led Richmond throughout the first half, scoring both goals for the Spiders early.
“Richmond took advantage of their chances, and Becca Wann is a special player,” AU head coach Dave Bucciero told AU Athletics. “I am happy with the way we played on both sides of the ball, and we are a better team today than three weeks ago. Our total focus now has to be on conference play and a new season that starts tomorrow.”
Wann’s first goal came in the 13th minute off Violet Miller’s cross, and Ashley Williams provided the assist for Wann’s second goal, which came just 4:22 later.
Andrea Young was too good in goal for the Spiders (4-5), and the Eagles failed to ignite their offense in the second half.
In the 57th minute, Jasmine Mohandesi and Kirsten Eriksen’s back-to-back shots were blocked in front of the goal. Brenna Smith and Michaela Cowgill took advantage of opportunities in the game’s final 15 minutes, but Young grabbed both shots.
Despite the two early hiccups, AU goalkeeper Charlene Belanger tallied eight saves on the game, with six coming in the second half.
Richmond outshot AU 21-6 for the game with a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal.
A shutout loss isn’t the way the Eagles hoped to end non-conference play, and they have a tough task ahead of them in the Patriot League opener Sept. 28 at Navy.
After being shutout by Maryland in its first match of the season, Navy has gone on an 11-game winning streak, with four shutouts.
Junior Ashlynn Soellner and sophomore Morgan Dankanich have led the Midshipmen (11-1) with nine and seven goals on the season, respectively. Paloma Perez and Julie Schumacher have each totaled six assists, which shows the team has chemistry offensively.
The Mids went 4-2-1 in the conference a season ago, eventually losing to Army in the Patriot League Championship.
After a tough stretch, it is important for AU to start off Patriot League play strong.
The Eagles will have to bring the same intensity that fueled them against Howard and GW if they expect to inch out a victory at Navy.
sraphelson@theeagleonline.com
