Oct. 13, 2015
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Junior Kaelin King assisted on the first goal and scored the second to lift the Lafayette women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Columbia on Tuesday evening at Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium.
"Both goals were very well-taken. We had a couple of other chances that we may convert on a different day, but overall I think it was a good win for us," head coach Mick Statham said. "Columbia is an excellent program with a good coach. These midweek games for academically-rigorous schools like ours are tough on the players, but from our standpoint, coming off a tough loss to Boston U., it's nice to see us bounce back and get back in the win column."
In the final non-conference game of the 2015 campaign, Lafayette didn't take long to get on the board, scoring its quickest goal of the season just 89 seconds into the contest. Settling a long ball from freshman Katie Brannigan down the left side, King sent a cross along the top of the box to a waiting Melissa Lynskey on the other side. Lynskey calmly took a touch and slotted it past Columbia keeper Gabby Dubick into the right side of goal for the early lead.
"I really hoped someone would be in the box for a cross in that situation," King said. "Melissa and I have this unspoken communication on the field that one of us will always be making a run. Luckily, I saw an opening and pulled it back for her to finish."
King was in tune to open the game as her shot hit the cross bar in the eighth minute and she had another great chance at goal in the 15th. Junior Julia Wescott sent a long clear down the middle of the field, leaving King to run into a breakaway situation. Unfortunately, King's shot was saved by a diving Dubick and a follow-up effort from classmate Elizabeth Scoda sailed high and right.
As the game moved into its second stanza, the Leopards' offense continued to click as King added to her team-leading offensive production in the 50th minute. Off a Wescott free kick from about 30 yards out on the right side of goal, junior Joanna Scotti flicked a header across the front of goal to a wide-open King on the other side. King made her side-volley finish look easy to take hold of the game with a 2-0 margin.
The Lions lit up their side of the board off a corner kick in the 76th minute, but the Leopards' defense stood strong down the stretch to secure their first home win since Sept. 3 and break a five-game winless streak. The victory moves Lafayette to a 6-5-1 overall record.
The Maroon and White led the way in shots, 17-10, and Columbia held a 3-1 edge in corners. Sophomore Kelly O'Brien was stout between the pipes, earning her second win with six saves, while the Lions' Gabby Dubick made five saves in defeat.
Lafayette hits the road on Saturday, returning to Patriot League play at Holy Cross at 1 p.m.
