An 89th-minute set-piece goal helped to lift American University past the University of Richmond women’s soccer team on Sept. 8.
The 2-1 Eagles’ comeback dealt the Spiders their third straight loss, although things seemed promising for the home side in the early going. Graduate forward Kelly Hutton opened the scoring off a play by graduate forward Brigitte Bussiere, who pounced on a botched Eagles clearance near the 18-yard box. Hutton’s high-arcing 14th-minute shot was the quickest go-ahead goal conceded by AU all season.
“It was a great ball from [Bussiere]; we talk about flick-ons all the time [in practice],” Hutton said after the game. “It was just a great offensive play.”
The Eagles found plenty of counterplay in the ensuing minutes to try to erase their deficit, attacking hard down the left side of the field. Despite several crosses, graduate goalkeeper McKenna Dalfonso and the Spider defense allowed just one chance at a goal for AU, a header right before halftime that sailed wide.
In all, AU managed to put only two shots on target through the first half, equal to the number of first-half goals in each of their previous two games.
Trailing out of halftime for the first time all season, the Eagles’ second-half aggression was on immediate display, as the first of 13 shots narrowly missed the lower left corner of the goal. AU’s efforts would not be denied much longer, however. Less than a minute after poking a set-piece opportunity just over the crossbar, the Eagles equalized, putting home a deflected ball at close range in the 54th minute.
The goal marked the first of several quality scoring opportunities for the Eagles, even as the Spiders continued to push on offense. Five minutes from the tying score, an AU forward nearly took the ball the length of the field off of a UR set piece, though misplayed the pass into the Spiders’ 18-yard box.
With 20 minutes remaining, the Eagles continued to drive, sending a shot from distance clanging off the crossbar. The Spiders drove downfield, drawing a corner in response, though this was cleared, and, nearly a minute later, it was the Eagles back on offense. This time, Dalfonso had to rush to the top of the 18-yard box, successfully defending a breakaway opportunity.
The Spiders managed only one shot on frame in the second half, courtesy of Hutton, but appeared defensively sound and poised for a draw with one minute remaining. Unfortunately for the home side, the Eagles converted on their final offensive effort, a free kick played low into the box that eventually pinballed into the far side of the net.
“It was an intense game, a bit frantic at times, but we didn’t do as much with the ball as we wanted,” UR Head Coach Adam Denton said after the loss. “We gave up too much possession in key areas and put ourselves under a little bit of pressure.”
UR fell to 2-3-1 with the loss. In their last-minute winner, the Eagles narrowly extended their win streak to four games, improving to 4-1-1.
The Spiders’ next game is on the road against Radford University at 5 p.m. Sept. 12, in their final action before Atlantic 10 Conference play begins.
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Contact sports writer Scott Valentine at scott.valentine@richmond.edu.
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