St. Mary’s Stuns No. 24 Catholic
St. Mary's City, Md. - The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's soccer team handed No. 24 Catholic University its first loss of the 2009 season as the Seahawks (4-5) used a three-goal first half to put away the Cardinals, 4-2, in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon.
Catholic (9-1), tied for third in the Mid-Atlantic region, came into today's action having won its first nine matches and outscoring its opponents, 26 to 3. However, St. Mary's doubled that in the first half and added one for extra measure in the final 45 minutes.
Freshman midfielder Carly Harmon (Davisburg, Mich./Holly) put the Seahawks on the board first with her first career goal at 9:59 as Harmon received a quick, short pass inside the box from freshman midfielder Tori Eskay (Damascus, Md./Urbana) and buried the ball into the lower left corner.
Catholic tied up the match 13 minutes later as the Cardinals' leading scorer, freshman forward Courtney Orgill (Wall, N.J./Wall), took a chip pass from sophomore midfielder Maggie McCarthy (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) and found the back of the net amidst a scramble in front of the goal.
Nearly three minutes later, freshman midfielder Liza Sitz (Silver Spring, Md./James Hubert Blake) returned a one-goal lead to St. Mary's as Sitz booted in a shot from 25 yards out that split through senior Tere Rossi's (Annandale, Va./Falls Church) hands at the near post.
Senior midfielder Sophia Esparza (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) provided the home team with a 3-1 advantage as Esparza put in the rebound off her own shot following Rossi's initial save at 32:43.
Esparza increased the lead to 4-1 in the second half as her free kick soared over Rossi's head at 68:58.
The Cardinals definitely felt the urgency to preserve their undefeated record down by three goals with 21:02 remaining. Senior defender Helene Nicoletti's (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield) header off senior midfielder Diana Spadaro's (Stony Point, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) free kick cut the lead to 4-2 at 70:13.
Catholic continued to mount the offensive pressure but freshman goalkeeper Grace Koplow (Ellicott City, Md./Wilde Lake) and the Seahawk defense thwarted any chances of a second half comeback.
Koplow made seven saves on 23 shots faced for her second win of the season, while Rossi recorded three stops on 13 shots faced. Catholic doubled St. Mary's in corner kicks, 6 to 3.
The Seahawks will return to action this Friday, October 2 as St. Mary's will travel to Newport News, Va. to face Christopher Newport University in a non-conference tilt under the lights at 6:00 pm.
Catholic will take on Wesley College on the road on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
