United States Coast Guard Academy

NEW LONDON, Conn. --

In the 26th iteration of the Whale Cup, Conn College came out victorious with a 1-0 win at the final minute.

The first 10 minutes went by with strong defensive play on both sides and the teams sharing the time of possession without strong opportunities on offense. Conn finally got the first real chance when a seemingly open player sent a shot at goal but keeper and reigning NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week Julia Little (Pensacola, Fla.) somehow dove and got her hand on the ball to knock it away. 

As the clock went under 30 to go in the half, Conn took control of possession, keeping the ball on their side of the field. The Bears defense held strong however, with seniors Lulu Vlases (Bozeman, Mont.) and Anabelle Pezzullo (Ashaway, R.I.) consistently making plays and Little making two more saves.

With just over 16 remaining in the half, Conn found themselves with a player all alone in front of goal but the approaching Julia Little put enough pressure on to force a shot just barely wide to the left to keep the game tied at 0-0. The Bears again were playing with fire two minutes later when a free kick nearly ricocheted into goal but scurried off wide to the left again. The Camels again nearly found the net with eight to go with the ball rattling off the post instead.

On a free kick with two minutes to go in the half, the Bears got their first real chance at goal when a well struck Lulu Vlases shot from way out narrowly missed pay dirt by striking the cross bar. The game would go to half tied with the bend but don't break CGA defense holding strong.

Coast Guard threatened right away in the second on a shot by Liana Vivas (Sahuarita, Ariz.) but the strong shot was saved. After 10 strong minutes of defensive play, the Camels had a prime opportunity on a penalty kick but the shot sailed wide to the right.

Coast Guard again narrowly escaped a Conn goal with 21 to go on yet another open shot missing wide to the left.

As the clock ticked under 10 to go in the game, Conn put their foot on the gas, sending shot after shot after shot into the offensive zone and at the goal. With 1:20 to go, the Camels got a corner kick and after a cluster in front of the goal, Conn found the back of the net to secure the win, the Whale Cup, and send the Bears home in heartbreaking fashion.

Coast Guard was out-shot by 13 but Julia Little(7 saves) and the back line of Anabelle Pezzullo, Mary Arengo (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Lulu Vlases was exceptional all game, handling the shooting barrage. 

The 1-0 loss moves the Bears to 2-2-2 on the season, they will host Babson College on Friday September 25th at 7pm.