LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis women's soccer team dug itself a fairly large hole in the first half of its non-conference match against Cal Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon by falling behind 3-0, but the Red Flash nearly climbed out with two second-half goals from
Sara Suler (Hermitage, Pa./Hickory). As it stood, however, the Gauchos held on for a 3-2 victory at Stokes Soccerplex.
UCSB scored two goals in the first nine minutes of action. Sydney Magnin put the Gauchos on the board in the fifth minute, and Kate Shoemaker scored four minutes later on a header off a corner kick. Magnin and the Gauchos struck again off a corner kick later in the half. In the 34th minute, Magnin redirected Ana Cruz's corner kick at the near post to make it 3-0 UCSB.
In the second half, the Red Flash had the better of play.
Gabi Morales (Madrid, Spain/Colegio La Inmaculada-Marillac) and Suler connected on passes in the opening minutes of the half in Gaucho territory, but Suler's feed to
Allison LaDuke (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) missed its mark. In the 57th minute, Suler scored the first of her two goals on a giveaway at the top of the box. The ball popped free to Suler, and she turned and fired a missile that beat UCSB goalkeeper Beth Ritter low left.
In the 63rd minute,
Siobhan Bross (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) found herself with an opportunity to cut the deficit to one, but Ritter made a nice save on a solid scoring chance.
Kasey Butts (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) had a corner kick in the 71st minute, and it led to a great opportunity for
Kelly Beegle (Bedford, Pa./Bedford), but her shot was deflected wide. The Flash had its second corner kick as a result, but nothing came from the opportunity.
In the 73rd minute, the Flash was able to cut the lead to 3-2. LaDuke deflected a loose ball to Suler. She squared up and nailed a hard shot over Ritter to make it 3-2. Saint Francis had several opportunities to tie the score, and the best came in the 80th minute. LaDuke found Morales streaking down the left side. She maneuvered into the box and let a strong shot go, but Ritter made a great save to keep the Gauchos on top.
The Red Flash continues non-conference action Friday at Towson.
