After a disjointed and error-plagued match, the AU women’s soccer team slumped to its ninth consecutive defeat, against Colgate 3-0 at Reeves Field Sunday. The game also marked the 11th time in 12 games that the Eagles have been held without a goal.
"I definitely don't think it was our best performance. I would be a little happier if we gave our all and seemed ready for the game and they [Colgate] just took it to us," head coach Anabel Hering said. "But I think a lot of the goals we're conceding are self-made and faults on our side."
AU (1-11-0, 0-4-0 PL) began the game on the back foot, as they were unable to maintain possession of the ball and were subjected to long periods of pressure from the Colgate attackers. The Raiders (6-4-1, 3-0-1 PL) were able to carve out several early chances, but erratic shooting prevented them from capitalizing and taking the lead. Six minutes into the match, Colgate forward Emily Crichlow fired a volley over the crossbar after being played through on the AU goal. Five minutes later, Raiders midfielder Eliza Doll found space behind the Eagles’ defense after a turnover, but was unable to direct her shot on target.
AU freshman goalkeeper Ryleigh Brown prevented the Eagles from falling behind halfway into the first half when she raced off her line to smother a shot from Doll after the Colgate attacker was played behind the AU defense. Colgate broke the deadlock moments later when a miscommunication in the Eagles defense allowed Lindsey Wiley through on goal and her shot slid past Brown into the back of the net.
“The first goal there was obviously a miscommunication in the back line of who needed to pick that person up,” Hering said. “It was definitely an error on our end and we started to organize better in the second half but the first half was definitely frantic defensively.“
After entering the half down 1-0, AU adjusted its offensive approach, attempting to attack down the wings to stretch the Colgate defense.
“[Attacking from the wings] was supposed to be the approach from the beginning, but they weren’t really executing it from the first half,” Hering said. “We were emphasizing at half time to try and get width out there and get services and opportunities on the wing to get crosses into the box. We had more opportunities that way.”
Early in the second half, junior forward Yari Bradfield found space on the wing behind the Raiders defense, but was unable to find a teammate with her cross attempt. Despite beginning the second half brightly, the Eagles found themselves two goals down six minutes into the half after Emily Crichlow’s shot deflected into the back of the net for Colgate.
The Raiders added a third goal from the penalty spot with under ten minutes remaining after AU senior defender Kira Flaherty committed a foul inside the Eagles’ 18-yard box.
The Eagles travel to Lehigh for a Patriot League matchup Saturday, Oct. 7, before returning to Reeves Field to face Holy Cross on Oct. 14.
