Correction appended
Two games into the season, the AU Women’s soccer team and new head coach Anabel Jimenez are still looking for their first victory of the season. The Eagles (0-2-0, 0-0 PL) dropped 2-1 in a hard fought loss on Aug. 25 to the visiting University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers (1-1-0, 0-0 AEC).
AU went on the offensive in the first half, managing six shots, but none led to any goals. UMBC was also unable to score in the first half, only managing two shots resulting in a 0-0 draw at the half.
However, the scoring drought finally ceased in the second half. In the 47th minute, UMBC’s Amanda Dailey scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Lilly Rydon. Soon after, Rydon scored a goal of her own to give UMBC a commanding 2-0 lead.
AU would not go down without a fight as Michaela Garcia scored an unassisted goal in the 75th minute. But the Eagles could not come up with an equalizer and fell 2-1.
Throughout the game, AU managed to outshoot UMBC 10-6, but the abundance of shots did not translate into goals.
Freshman Ashley Bonner and senior Shaena Alfonsi totaled 7 out of the 10 shots for AU. Goalkeeper Sarah Dejak, a recent transfer from Syracuse, totaled 3 saves. For UMBC, Dailey did most of the damage with four shots and a goal. Goalkeeper Lauren Kadet had 6 saves.
When asked about the team’s performance, Jimenez praised the Eagles’ attack, but admitted they had struggled to complete plays.
The next game for the Eagles will be Aug. 30 as they head across D.C. to face Howard University, the first game of a three game road trip for the Eagles.
sports@theeagleonline.com
A former version of the photo caption misspelled Alfonsi’s name.
