The AU women’s soccer team dropped two close games while taking part in the Fairfield Invitational Sept. 13 and 15 in Fairfield, Conn.
Coming off of a 1-0 victory against local rival George Mason on Sept. 10, the Eagles (2-6-0, 0-0-0 PL ) fell 1-0 to the Fairfield Stags (2-3-0, 0-0-0 MAAC) Sept. 13 in their tournament first match up.
The game began with Fairfield jumping to an early lead as Stags forward Ashley Small took the ball from an AU defender and made an impressive play to beat the junior goalkeeper Sarah Dejak in the third minute for an unassisted goal.
It would be the only goal AU would allow despite the Stags outshooting the Eagles 18-7. Dejak would have an active afternoon making 11 saves. The Stags also won the battle of corner kicks, receiving seven to the Eagles’ one.
Although AU created several opportunities to score, the team was unable to overcome the goal deficit offensively in an effort that Eagles head coach Anabel Jimenez Hering described in a phone conversation with the Eagle as “too little too late.”
Despite the result of this contest, several AU players boasted impressive statistics. Junior forward Lindsay Muri led the Eagles with three shots. Senior forward Shaena Alfonsi notched two shots as well, while freshman forward Ashley Bonner and freshman midfielder Sara Perlman each contributed a shot.
For Fairfield, goalkeeper Kathleen Early held the Eagles scoreless making three critical saves. Midfielder Carly Beyer led the Stags with high five shots, four on goal. Both were game highs.
Two days later Sept. 15 the Eagles took on the Hartford Hawks (3-1-3, 0-0-0 AEC).
Again Hartford took off to an early lead that was never relinquished when the Hawks’ Elise Galipo was fed the ball inside the top corner of the box and to beat Eagle junior keeper Charlene Belanger to score what would be the lone goal of the game. Chanel Johnson was credited with the assist.
The Eagles almost pulled even when junior Nicole Paviglionite nearly scored on a header that sailed into the net before she was whistled for being offside near the end of the first half.
AU’s defense was able to hold the Hawks scoreless for the remainder of the game. In response to this game, Hering said that the Eagles were “overall jelling as a team, despite shooting ourselves in the foot.”
For AU, Belanger would make a game high six saves and ceding only one goal. Entering Friday’s contest Belanger was second in the Patriot League in saves made with 31 trailing only Bucknell’s Jessie Ashworth. Again Muri would led the Eagles with three shots of the nine that the Eagles took total.
As a team, AU took five corner kicks compared to the Hawks single corner kick. The Eagleswere outshot 16-9 by Hartford.
On the other side, Chanel Johnson had eleven shots and goalkeeper Jessica Jung had a scoreless outing with four saves.
With the four losses the Eagles have been shut out four times this season and is in the bottom half of the Patriot League in goals scored.
Hering acknowledged that the games were similar and that, for most of the Hartford game, the Eagles would match the Hawks “with intensity and energy” but that the Eagles had “started off slow,” by allowing the early goals. She continued to say that she is “overall pleased with the way the team played.” saying that the Eagles “look good going into Lehigh.”
Thee next match for the Eagles will be the Patriot League opener against Lehigh Sept. 21 at Reeves Field.
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