New Haven, Conn. – The Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team dropped a home no-conference contest, 1-0, to Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon at Celentano Field. With the setback, the Falcons move to 1-2-1 overall, while the Cardinals improve to 2-1 with the victory.
With the score knotted at zero early in the second half, Wesleyan's Ellie Dempsey sent a nice pass to a cutting Victoria Matthews just inside the box. Matthews collected the ball and chipped it over Albertus senior goalkeeper Maria Case (West Haven, Conn.) who came charging off her line to cut off the angle. Matthews' 56th-minute marker was her second of the fall and proved to be the game winner.
After taking a 1-0 lead, the Cardinals backline did a good job of holding the Falcons offense at bay. Albertus' lone scoring chance over the final 20 minutes came with just over 16 minutes remaining in regulation as junior midfielder Danielle Polvan (East Haven, Conn.) fired a shot from 10 yards outside the box that was gloved out of the air by Wesleyan back-up goalkeeper Olivia Gorman.
Less than 10 minutes into play, Albertus Magnus had the first scoring chance of the contest as a through ball from the midfield sent sophomore Amanda Montano in on a breakaway. Montano fired a shot from just inside the box that Cardinals starting goalkeep Meghan Hanan turned aside with a diving effort.
With a little over 17:15 left in the opening half, Wesleyan freshman midfielder Imogen Nelson fired a blast that Case made a diving save on. Later in the first stanza, the hosts threatened again as sophomore midfielder Angelina Piccirillo (Naugatuck, Conn.) fired a free kick on goal from 15 yards outside the box that Hanan leaped and saved.
In goal, Case made five saves in a losing effort for the Falcons. On the opposite end, Hanan made two saves to earn the win for the Cardinals, while Gorman made one save over the final 27 and a half minutes in relief.
Wesleyan held a 15-7 advantage in shots and each team took five corners.
Albertus returns to action on Wednesday, September 16 with a non-conference clash versus Wentworth at home.
