Sept. 8, 2009
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - A strong second half on the offensive side of the ball did not translate into a win as the Lafayette women's soccer team lost a 4-1 match against Rider on Tuesday night in Easton. The Leopards doubled their shot total in the second period and took less than two minutes to score a second-half goal, but the Broncs proved too much to overcome.
Rider's Lauren Musumeci combined for five points (2 g, 1 a) to lead her squad. Lafayette (1-3) sophomore Janelle Pierson netted her first goal of the season and three different Lafayette players took two shots. Goalie Lauren Smedley made six stops, four of which came in the second half.
Rider (3-3) dominated possession for the majority of the first half, taking eight shots to the Leopards' three. It took the Broncs just over five minutes to put their first goal on the scoreboard when Musumeci found herself wide open just outside the box and sailed a shot over the head of Smedley.
Less than 20 minutes elapsed before Rider scored its second goal. Alison Brody fed the ball to Kara Perkoski who put it into the back of the net for a 2-0 Broncs lead.
Lafayette's offense seemed to find a bit more rhythm toward the end of the half. They saw several looks at the goal and Jill Dozier and Mackenzie Moore recorded two of the Leopards' three first-half shots in the final 10 minutes of the opening period, but Rider maintained its 2-0 edge at the midway point.
Head coach Mick Statham's halftime talk to his team translated into immediate results as less than two minutes into the second-period action, Pierson muscled her way through the Rider defenders and got the ball past goalie Alex Post to make it a 2-1 game.
Unfortunately, the Broncs responded by scoring twice in a five-minute span to up their lead to 4-1.
The Leopard defense held Rider to just two shots and without a goal over the final 35 minutes of play but their offense failed to get another ball past the Rider goalies.
Statham's team has a few days to re-group before hosting San Jose State on Friday afternoon.
"I have to give full credit to Rider," he said after the match. "We just weren't sharp enough, but the most important game is the next one and we have to re-group. We have a good, young team that is maturing all the time and I have faith they'll have a good performance on Friday afternoon."
The Leopards continue their four-match homestand on Friday with a 3 p.m. game against the Spartans. The 3 p.m. start time is a change from the original 2 p.m. kick-off.
