WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Nadia Zaffanella converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute to propel Lafayette women's soccer to a 1-0 victory over American at Reeves Field on Saturday. With the win, Lafayette improved to 2-0 in Patriot League play.
After a scoreless first half that saw both sides create chances, Lafayette broke through following an American foul in the penalty box. Zaffanella stepped up to the penalty spot at 70:39 and buried her fourth goal of the season to give the Leopards the 1-0 lead, which proved to be the final. With her score against the Eagles, Zaffanella recorded her 46th career point, tying her with Caroline Tuttle for the fifth-most career points in program history.
Lafayette generated continuous pressure throughout the contest, out shooting American,16-10, and holding a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Era Methoxha and
Heather Plowright each recorded three shots for Lafayette, while
Abby Giordano,
Calleigh Elder,
Alle Hughes and
Allie Loveless also contributed to the attack.
In goal,
Catherine Apker earned the shutout for Lafayette. She faced 10 shots and made five saves across 90 minutes of action, including four second-half stops to secure the clean sheet. Her highlight of the day came with 20:48 left in 2nd half, when American's Amer Miller fired off a shot at the net that was denied by a diving Apker to keep the Eagles off the board. American goalkeeper Riley Molbury finished with eight saves on 16 shots faced.
The Leopards will return to action hosting Bucknell on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
For the latest on the Lafayette College women's soccer program, follow the Leopards on Instagram @LafayetteWSOC and Twitter @LafayetteWSOC.
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