EASTON, Pa. – The Lafayette women's soccer team couldn't convert its chances in the opening half and Delaware made it pay on Sunday afternoon at Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium as the Leopards fell by a 2-0 score in the 2019 home opener.
 
The Maroon and White, coming off a dramatic overtime victory over St. Francis Brooklyn to start the year on Thursday, carried that momentum into the opening moments on Sunday, creating a number of chances over the first few minutes.
 
Off the game's first corner in the third minute, senior co-captain Caitlin Balmer found the ball at her feet and fired a shot on target that forced a diving save from Delaware's Kamryn Stabelin. Three minutes later, sophomore Sophia Hudson darted a through-ball to junior Krista Kissell in the box, but Stabelin came through with a fingertip save to keep the Leopards off the board.
 
In the 11^th minute, Lafayette kept the pressure on as Kissell was upended on a breakaway, forcing a red-card decision given to Delaware's Maria Gentile. Unfortunately, though, the man advantage didn't play out that way for much of the match as the visitors were able to make it a non-factor, scoring on a penalty in the 30^th minute to take a 1-0 edge into the break.
 
Lafayette chased the game for much of the second half as the Blue Hens settled into action and controlled the majority of possession in the final 45 minutes. A finish from Claudia Benz off assists from Elizabeth Weimer and Jessica Kennett in the 64^th minute all but finished out the contest as Delaware (2-0) saw out the final minutes for a second consecutive 2-0 victory, toppling Lehigh in their opener last week.  
 
"We created a lot of chances and I thought played very well in the first half in particular, but whenever you have momentum, you've got to capitalize on it. We didn't do a good enough job in finishing the chances we created," head coach Mick Statham said. "I thought both teams played very well and, overall, it was a good game for us to give us some lessons and some ideas that we can create chances against good teams."
 
Junior Maggie Pohl and freshman Natalie Neumann split halves between the pipes, combining for three saves and two goals allowed, while Stabelin picked up a well-earned victory, making nine saves on the day. Shots finished at 12-10 in Lafayette's favor and the Leopards held a slight edge in corners as well, 4-3.
 
The Maroon and White (1-1) return to action on Thursday for the first of five straight road tilts, traveling to South Orange, New Jersey for a meeting with Seton Hall at 6 p.m.