NEW LONDON, Conn.
On a chilly Wednesday evening in New London, Coast Guard women's soccer fell by a score of 1-0 to Springfield College. The Pride improve to 3-7 (2-2 NEWMAC with the victory. They will host #5 MIT on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
The Bears had the first opportunity in the game with a corner in the 3rd minute.
Anabelle Pezzullo (Ashaway, R.I.) sent a strong ball in front of the goal looking to connect on a header with keeper turned forward
Emma Acker (Springfield, Va.), ultimately finding
Ella Pottle (Epping, N.H.) who sent a shot wide to the right.
It was Pottle with the next strong chance as well for the Bears six minutes later with a shot that was blocked by a Pride defender.
After an easy save for
Julia Little (Pensacola, Fla.) early in the action, she had to earn her second with a great, diving stop in the 14th minute. Coast Guard had the early possession advantage but as the first reached its halfway point, the Pride turned the tables. Springfield had four shots in the span of five minutes. In the 23rd minute, Springfield seemed destined for a goal but a stellar diving challenge by center back
Lulu Vlases (Bozeman, Mont.) did just enough to force the shot wide to the right. Minutes later, Vlases was again a factor, this time on offense, with a free kick onto goal that the Pride keeper punched away.
Springfield finally broke through in the 39th minute with a hectic, broken play in front of the goal that ultimately ended with the ball in the back of the CGA net. Scoring for the Pride was a local freshman from nearby Waterford High School
Adyson Wiseman.
Coast Guard narrowly avoided a second Pride goal with two minutes left in the half but a shot the defense did just enough to force a shot high and send the game to half at just 0-1.
Five minutes into the second half,
Meren Zeliger (Farmington, Maine) and
Ella Pottle each sent shots high over the Pride goal but the opportunities gave the Bears some momentum early on.
In the 58th minute, Springfield took control of the possession again for a long stretch.
Katie McFerran (Selkirk, N.Y.) sent a strong shot on goal but a leaping
Julia Little just barely got her left hand on the ball to force it wide. Four minutes later, the Pride had two chances in which scoring seemed imminent but shots wide and high kept them at just one. Another Springfield opportunity came in the 73rd minute on a free kick just outside of the box but Little, stellar all game, made yet another diving stop. Under two minutes later, the Pride got yet another free kick from just outside, this time the kick flying just high.
As the game clock ticked under 10 to go, Springfield kept subbing in fresh legs and kept playing keep away from the Bears. In the end, the Pride were able to wind down the clock and hold on to the 1-0 win.
CGA falls to 2-4-4 with the loss. They will travel to Emerson College on Saturday October 10th for a 1:00 PM game vs the Lions. Emerson is currently 3-6-2 after falling to Wellesley tonight.
