STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Saint Francis women's soccer team outshot Wagner, 18-11, in Friday night's Northeast Conference matchup, but the Seahawks scored a goal in each half to escape with a 2-0 victory over the Red Flash.
Casey Gallaher (Sidman, Pa./Forest Hills),
Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac) and
Sara Suler (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory) each led SFU with four shots apiece. Three of Morales' four shots were on goal.
Saint Francis got off to a fast start in the offensive end, teeing up four shots before Wagner could counter with one of its own. Two of those attempts were on goal, with
Allison LaDuke (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) stopped in the third minute and Morales denied by Wagner goalkeeper Katie Viscardi in the ninth minute. LaDuke finished with two shots.
Saint Francis continued to control play midway through the half. SFU had a pair of corner kicks within 30 seconds of one another in the 22
nd and 23
rd minutes, and a Gallaher shot in the 24
th minute sailed high.
The Seahawks broke through in the 35
th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Johanna Konrad scored her second goal of the season on a feed from Gabrielle Davis to beat SFU keeper
Romina Kunze (Frankfurt, Germany/Carl-von-Weinberg-Schule). Saint Francis responded with two more corner kicks and two more shots in the final 10 minutes of the half, but the Flash couldn't break through.
In the second half, the teams traded opportunities in the opening minutes, but Wagner managed to add an insurance goal in the 54
th minute. Konrad assisted on Sandra Battista's first goal of the season on a shot to the right side past Kunze to make it 2-0.
SFU kept pushing, but Viscardi proved up to the challenge. She made three saves in a 10-minute span, including two on Morales in the 61
st and 63 minutes. In the 70
th minute, she made a stop on Suler. SFU continued with three more shots in the final six minutes, but the 2-0 Wagner advantage held strong.
The Red Flash looks to get back on the winning track at Central Connecticut on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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