Women’s soccer defeats Columbia 2-1

The Saint Joseph’s University women’s soccer team improved to 6-1-1 on the season, and extended their unbeaten streak to six games following a 2-1 road win against Columbia University Lions on Friday evening.

Columbia took the lead early in the game as sophomore forward Emma Anderson tallied the Lions’ only goal, beating the Hawks’ freshman goalkeeper Cameron Perrott in the third minute.

“[We] took a little time to get into the game and looked flat in the first few minutes and were chasing the play,” St. Joe’s Head Coach Jess Mannella said.

The Hawks responded later in the first half as senior Emily Gingrich scored off of a penalty kick to make it 1-1 in the 25th minute. Manella added that once Gingrich got the Hawks on the board, the team looked “more energized and more focused” and was able to “settle into the game.”

Ten minutes later, sophomore forward Dakota Mills tallied her sixth goal of the season, scoring off of a corner kick from freshman Kylie D’Ambra to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead going into the second half.

Strong play from Perrott and lockdown defense from the Hawks made the lead stand. The Lions did not have a shot on goal in the second half, and the Hawks finished the game with a 13-7 advantage in shots. The win improved Perrott’s record to 6-1-1 on the season.

Following Friday’s win, St. Joe’s is now 5-0-1 since they lost 1-0  at Rutgers University on August 26.

“With our conference schedule beginning soon, I’d like for us to continue working on our defending,” Mannella said. “We’ve been really good so far, but I think that we can be even better and we can tighten up our defense in certain situations. If we can do that, I think we will be in a good situation to shut opponents out and win games.”

The Hawks return to play this Friday, Sept. 23 at Long Island University Brooklyn at 4 p.m.