NEW LONDON, Conn. — 

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy women's soccer team scored once against visitors Eastern Connecticut State University but were ultimately unable to surmount a pair of early goals scored by the Warriors in a Wednesday evening non-conference contest.

Coast Guard moves to 1-7-2, while ECSU improves to 5-2-2. The Warriors next game will see them host Little East Conference rivals Plymouth State University (4-6) in their annual Senior Recognition Game.

Eastern took an early lead on solo scores by Michaela Gasparri in the 16th minute and Katelyn Herbert in the 24th, but the Bears cut into the deficit not long after. In the 33rd minute, team captain Mia Forti (Madison, Conn.) dribbled around her defender and into the box before sending a short pass to Therese Sherwin (Destin, Fla.), whose immediate shot attempt was impeded by by an opposing outfielder's arm. Bella Brittain (Woodbridge, Va.) rose to the occasion on the easy penalty call by burying her shot in the bottom left corner.

The goal seemed to light a fire under the Bears, who played with an increased aggressiveness and tenacity for the rest of the first half and carried it over to the second. Neither team seemed to have an upper hand in possession, but Coast Guard had several instances of advancing the ball deep into the visiting backfield throughout the night.

Forti created a great chance in the 59th after intercepting a goalkeeper pass and finding some open space at the edge of the box, but her attempt sailed just wide left. Ella Pottle (Epping, N.H.) created another good chance for the team captain in the 63rd minute by sending a perfect ball up field to a sprinting Forti, but a well-placed tackle by her marking defender stopped the play before she could do anything. Many in the crowd voiced their displeasure with what they deemed to be a no-call at the edge of the box, but the head referee's motion to play on overruled the spectating anger.

Coast Guard's aggressiveness was clear in the end-of-game box score, which showed them holding a 16-11 advantage in shots taken and a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. ECSU had a 5-4 upper hand in corner kicks and led the game in saves with a 4-2 margin. Both teams utilized a duo of keepers, with Emma Acker (Springfield, Va.) and Julia Little (Pensacola, Fla.) logging a stop each for Coast Guard.

Acker was the game's starter, but an apparent 33rd-minute injury forced Little into replacing her. Little's save was one for her highlight reel, with the junior impeding a try from long distance with an athletic diving stop in the 74th minute. The Warriors were whistled for eight fouls to Coast Guard's seven and also held the advantage in yellow cards, picking up one in the first half and another in the final 45, while the Bears were flashed the lemon-hued plastic once in the second.

Bears women's soccer is back again this Saturday, playing host to reigning New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference champions Massachusetts Institute of Technology (8-2, 2-0). MIT will head into the match-up as the 12th-ranked team in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll. Coast Guard was plucky in two losses to the Engineers last season, a 0-1 fall in the regular portion of the schedule and a 1-2 season-ender in the first round of the conference tournament.