The AU women's soccer team hasn't had much luck so far this season, falling victim to a number of sloppy losses and dormant offensive performances.
Yet, the Eagles haven't given up on the season, perhaps hoping the rest of the fall should offer some second chances.
It was two second-chance goals, and another off a set piece, that drove AU to a vital home win Wednesday afternoon, a 3-1 victory over District rivals George Washington.
"We showed up to play today," said one of AU's goal scorers, Marcela Ricupero. "We had nothing to loose."
With the win, AU improves to 3-6-0 on the beginning of a five-game home stand. And it helps boost morale on a team that, according to the coaches, could've played better.
"A win like this reassures us that even when we don't play well it's possible to win," said AU head coach Michael Brady. He later added, "We came out aggressively, and we wanted to play mostly on their half of the ball."
The Eagles began the match aggressively, fielding a line-up of three forwards designed to strike agains GW early.
The push forward paid off when sophomore Jana Lee scored in the sixth minute. Freshman Katelynn Donovan had the first chance to reach the ball, but was blocked by George Washington's keeper. Luckily for AU, Lee reached the lose ball and put the Eagles up 1-0.
Most of the first half transpired on GW's end of the field, with AU's pressure keeping the Colonials in their own half.
That pressure helped double the lead, when Ricupero took Lee's pass and plunked a ball off the underside of the post, dropping it straight down just beyond the goal line for the second goal of the game and giving AU a 2-0 advantage.
Sloppy play at the other end let GW back in it with seven minutes left in the first half. AU yielded five corner kick opportunities before GW finally struck on its sixth.
"Corner kicks are still our weakness," Ricupero said. "We think giving a corner kick is ok and our time to rest. We still need to work on that."
As the second half opened, the game became more physical, with two yellow cards being handed out within a few seconds of each other.
It also opened up a bit more, with GW creating most of the chances. The Colonials nearly tied it on one occasion, but freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Wiggins made a great save at the top of the box to stop a break away.
"She was a rock back there," Lee said
American's final goal possessed in opportunism what it lacked in beauty. A ball across the open net was missed, the next shot blocked with a questionable no call on a hand ball, and another shot missed wide before freshman Tatiana Bertolo finally headed in junior Christina Gonzalez's pass to put the game out of reach at 3-1.
The Eagles next game is against Towson next Monday at 3:00pm on Reeves Field.
