Women’s Soccer Struggles to Score on the Road

The Raiders traveled this weekend to Muncie, ID to play two games this weekend. Going in with high hopes, the Raiders dropped their first game to Robert Morris and their second later to Ball State.

In their first matchup on the weekend, the Raiders took on Robert Morris and were seeking their first win on the season. The game began and the Colonials immediately put pressure on the Raiders defense to make stops. Just over 4:30 into the game, the Colonials grabbed an early 1-0 lead, something they would not give away for the rest of the game.

Just six minutes after their first goal, Robert Morris got back on the board to extend their lead to 2-0. The Raiders got chances early off corners in the first half but senior defender Kelsey Jensen was stopped by the tough

Colonial defense.

The second half was more of the same for the Raiders as Robert Morris found ways to control play. Reducing the Raiders to two penalty corners in the second half, they were unable to get any momentum and fell to the Colonials in the end 2-0.

Despite the lack of goals, the Raiders attack was still out there working hard as junior attacker Eliana Brown added three shots to the three that Jensen had. Junior goalie Amanda DiDomizio made ten saves on the day giving her best effort to keep the Raiders in the game.

The next day, the Raiders headed back out on the field to take on Ball State. The

Raiders scored their first goal near the start of the first half. Colgate earned a penalty corner after a long possession in the circle. Sophomore goalkeeper Shelby Henley blocked the first shot from junior midfield Rebecca Libutti, and turned away Jensen’s first shot as well. However Jensen and the Raiders were persistent and scored at 7:18, taking the lead in the first half. The Raiders defense held strong for the remainder of the first half and were able to go into halftime with the lead.

At the start of the second half, the Raiders maintained their lead until the Cardinals finally scored 13 minutes into the second half. Cardinals junior Tarel Teach made her way into the circle, dribbled around DiDomizio, to score and tie the game at 1.

The Raiders worked to regain their lead as senior attacker Halle Biggar attempted to score but her shot went off the post. The game remained tied with 15:40 remaining.

The Cardinals kept pressing Di Domizio as they fired a shot on net. Di Domizio blocked their attempt, but Teach used the rebound and put it away giving the Cardinals the victory and tallying her second goal of the game.

Although Di Domizio made seven stops for the Raiders over the course of the game, the Cardinals led with 19 shots to the Raiders 13. They also held a 10-4 advantage with penalty corners and had 10 attempted shots in the second half compared to the Raiders five.

The Raiders will be back at home on Tyler Field this weekend facing Lock Haven on Saturday and St. Francis on Sunday.

Contact Emma Barge at [email protected].