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#PghSoccer Women's College Round-Up: St. Joe's Comeback Stuns Dukes; RMU Win Again

by
John Krysinsky
October 17, 2016

St. Joseph 3 DUQUESNE 2

The Duquesne women headed into Sunday’s contest with St. Joseph’s on a roll — winning its first six Atlantic 10 games.
Early in the match, it appeared that they were well on their way to their seventh win and seizing a stranglehold on first place in Conference standings.
However, three unanswered goals by Saint Joseph’s resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss for the Dukes on Rooney Field Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Dukes fall to 9-4-2 overall and 5-1-0 in Atlantic 10 Conference play, while the Hawks improve to 12-1-2 and 5-0-1.
Abby Losco capitalized on an early opportunity for the Dukes when her shot deflected off the back of Saint Joseph’s Paige Bergman, beating Cameron Perrott in the 11th minute.
Saint Joseph’s answered with a shot in the 13^th minute, however Dakota Mills’ attempt would bounce off the post, keeping the Hawks off the board.
In the 14^th minute Linnea Faccenda received a through ball from Losco, and put the ball past Perrott on the inside left post, extending Duquesne’s lead to 2-0.
SJU closed out the half with a header by Meghan Dipippa, which was stopped by Kyra Murphy in the 42^nd minute.
Emily Gingrich would record two back-to-back shots in the first five minutes of the second half, with Murphy saving both attempts and holding SJU scoreless.
In the 70^th minute Michael Finneyfrock’s header beat Murphy, bringing the score to 2-1. Finneyfrock went on to level the game with a goal in the 86^th minute, and the score would remain tied at the end of regulation.
Mills’ shot to the right of Murphy in the 91^st minute ended the game with a 3-2 victory for the Hawks. With the win, Saint Joseph’s is now first in the A-10, while Duquesne falls to third.

“It was a great first half, we played really well and scored two goals. We allowed them back in the game though, and once they scored those two goals in the second half they had all of the momentum going into overtime,” said Duquesne Head Coach Al Alvine.

Syracuse 1 PITT 0

The University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision in ACC play Sunday afternoon in a road outing at Syracuse.
A free kick from Syracuse’s Taylor Bennett in the 26th minute would be the difference maker in the game, as the two squads battled in an evenly-matched 90 minutes.

“We fought really hard, followed the game plan and played with a lot of energy but in the end we didn’t finish on our chances,” said head coach Greg Miller.
“I’m proud of our effort but at the end of the day you have to score goals. The goal they scored was not saveable, that was a great free kick and it was the difference maker.”

Both teams recorded 12 shots on the afternoon, with seven on goal for the Orange and five for the Panthers. Goalkeeper Taylor Francis recorded six saves, with Syracuse keeper Courtney Brosnan stopping five.
With the loss, Pitt falls to 2-12-1 on the season and 1-6-0 in ACC play. The Panthers will return to action on Thursday, hosting No. 11 North Carolina at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Pitt will close out the home portion for the 2016 regular season on Saturday, welcoming No. 4 Duke to Pittsburgh for Senior Day.

ROBERT MORRIS 1 Mt. St. Mary’s 0

Bak’s Strike Lifts Colonials to Second Straight Win

One goal was enough for the Robert Morris University women’s soccer team once again as Kasia Bak‘s strike in the 50th minute pushed the Colonials ahead of Mount St. Mary’s, 1-0, this afternoon in Northeast Conference (NEC) play.
Robert Morris (4-11, 2-3 NEC) has bounced back from a five-game skid with a pair of victories on the weekend, keeping the Colonials in the hunt for an NEC Tournament berth. The visitors only generated two shots in the second half compared to five attempts from Mount St. Mary’s (4-9-1, 0-4 NEC), but they were able to pick up the lone goal of the match despite the limited chances.

Serena Donmoyer earned the start between the sticks and was tested early, coming up big on a Shayna MacFarlane shot in the third minute. Maleha Kureishy then generated RMU’s first shot of the game four minutes later, but it was stopped.
Bak, who led the Colonials with three shots on the afternoon, was stopped by the Mountaineer goalkeeper in the 22nd minute after an Erin Ritzer (Bentworth) attempt was blocked. RMU continued to up the pressure as the half went on as Kristina Kelleyhad a chance at goal saved in the 30th minute, followed by an attempt by older sister Kayla ripped wide of the netting.
The Colonials picked up their goal five minutes into the second half with some brilliant teamwork between Kristina Kelley,Shannon Reagan, and Bak. Kelley connected on a long pass with her fellow first-year, who redirected it with a header to the junior midfielder. Bak then broke free from the Mount St. Mary’s backline and struck a low shot to the far post for her second goal of the season.
The hosts increased their urgency after the tally, trying to the right combo for an equalizer. Gianna Pomykacz had a shot blocked in the 64th minute and Donmoyer gloved a Jenna Mount West strike in the 71st. Pomykacz had another crack at goal in the 75th minute that was saved, and saw a third attempt deflected by the RMU backline with eight minutes remaining.
Donmoyer made three saves to register the first shutout of her career.
Bak’s game-winning tally gives her three points on the weekend and a team-high eight on the season – all of which have come in her last seven games.
Next up for Robert Morris is a date at Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, Oct. 21 for a pivotal NEC match against a foe that owns an unbeaten mark (3-0-1) in conference play.