Robert Morris women end season with loss to Youngstown State

From Robert Morris University Athletic Department report

Robert Morris’ women’s soccer team dropped their season finale Monday night against Youngstown State, falling 4-1 on the road to the Penguins.

Gabriella Lecuona scored the lone goal for RMU, her second of the season, as RMU finishes the 2021 campaign at 1-8 (1-8 HL) on the year.

A fast goal for the Penguins and an unlucky bounce put Robert Morris in the hole early.

Following a quick shot to start things off for RMU from Kayla Veloso-Lima, the Penguins worked their way down the field and got on the board in the 6′ when an unfortunate bounce resulted in the ball deflecting off of an RMU defender and into the back of the net for a 1-0 YSU lead.

RMU looked for a quick answer following the tough break. Haleigh Finale fired a strike from just outside the box for a solid look, however YSU keeper Kate McEachern was in position to make the save.

RMU continued to press, but McEachern stood tall again in goal for the Penguins, turning aside another look from Finale as well as strikes from Angela Van Damia and Sheridan Reid.

More chances came for the Colonials, but still they could not manage to beat the Penguin keeper.

Back-to-back saves on Kaoru Hayashi and Brittany O’Connell followed by a close call on a corner punctuated the end of a frustrating first half for RMU.

Though RMU enjoyed a majority of possession in the game’s second half, turning that possession into goals continued to prove difficult.

Another save for McEachern on Finale followed by a corner that also failed to materialize into offense compounded the chances for Robert Morris, however it was YSU who would soon score again, converting on a PK following a foul on Ylexus Gilliand in the box.

They would push it to 3-0 before Gabriella Lecouna finally found the back of the net for Robert Morris in the 77′, cutting it down to a 3-1 deficit for her second goal of the season.

YSU restored their three-goal lead in the 82′ to come away with a 4-1 win.