The University of Richmond soccer team lost 1-0 against Duquesne University on Sept. 22.
During the first half, neither team was able to pull ahead, as both squads proved to be evenly matched. This kept the score 0-0 at the half. Heading into halftime, UR had taken five shots on goal compared to the Dukes’ three and had attempted two corner kicks.
However, the tie would be short-lived as 29 seconds into the second half, the Dukes found the back of the net, which made the score 1-0. For the remainder of the match, UR was unable to answer, which ultimately resulted in the Dukes securing the conference victory.
This loss drops the Spiders’ record to 1-7-2, and puts them at 0-2-1 in conference play.
UR head coach Marty Beall said he was really disappointed by the loss.
“We talked about discipline a lot, how we need to be more disciplined on the field and unfortunately, we just gave away too many undisciplined fouls,” Beall said. “And we talked about being ready in the second half and unfortunately, clearly we weren’t ready in the second half, as they score in the first 30 or 40 seconds in the second half.”
Throughout the game, UR committed 11 fouls, giving the Dukes plenty of opportunities to advance the ball down the field. The Dukes also committed 12 fouls themselves, which made for a scrappy game from both sides.
Coming off conference games against Saint Joseph’s University and Saint Louis University — which resulted in a tie and a loss, respectively — graduate forward Katie Tritt said the team grew and knew what the standards and expectations were coming into this game.
“Our plan for this game was to come in and just continue to raise that standard, and we didn’t get the result that we wanted,” Tritt said. “But we have an opportunity with a bye weekend to really grow from this game, figure out individually and as a team what we need to do better and to come out the rest of the season with success and grit.”
The Spiders have seven games remaining, all of which are against Atlantic 10 Conference opponents. Currently, the Spiders have the second-worst record in the A-10, only above St. Bonaventure University.
Heading into the rest of the season, Beall said the team needs to improve what they do in front of the goal.
“Our team defending is pretty good,” Beall said. “We’ve only given up three goals in three conference games. That’s not a bad mark. But we haven’t scored and that’s an alarming thing that we’ve only scored three goals this season. We’ve gotten ourselves in good position to score but we just haven’t been clinical enough in front of goal. So that’s the number one thing we have to improve on for sure.”
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Tritt said they can grow and reflect on this game. The team does not like the feeling of losing, so it needs to respond in a positive way and believe it can be successful, she said.
The Spiders’ next game is away at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29 against the University of Rhode Island, where they will look to win their first game since Aug. 28.
Contact sports writer Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.
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