Women’s soccer ties to stay undefeated in conference play
This past Sunday, the Saint Joseph’s University women’s soccer team traveled to New York to take on the Fordham University Rams. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after two overtime periods to maintain St. Joe’s undefeated record in conference play.
The game remained scoreless for the first half and much of the second, until the 63rd minute when freshman Gabrielle Vagnozzi scored the first and only goal for the Hawks off of a corner kick taken by senior Megan DiPippa.
“We’ve been dangerous in corners a lot this season,” Head Coach Jess Mannella said. “There was a service into the box and it went right to Gabby’s feet and she was able to put it away.”
Just one minute later, the Rams struck back scoring a goal from inside the box to bring the match to a tie at 1-1. No one else found the back of the net for the remainder of regulation, leading to the first overtime period.
Fordham almost had a chance to win it, but St. Joe’s freshman goalkeeper Cameron Perrott saved the game by making a key save.
“They played a great ball through to break our back line,” Mannella said. “Cameron made a great decision to stay on her line and was able to save the shot.”
There were no more goals scored throughout the first or second overtime period, bringing the match to a tie.
Mannella expected a close game from Fordham, based on the Hawks’ past meetings with the team.
“They’re very aggressive and put a lot of numbers in one half of the field, so it’s hard to get out,” Mannella said. “They did a really good job frustrating us.”
Much of that frustration came in the second overtime period when Vagnozzi beat two defenders and scored, but referees called it back.
Despite the tense game, the team is happy with its performance over the weekend.
“We’re happy with a tie and to come out with four total points from this weekend,” Mannella said.
St. Joe’s is now 1-0-1 in Atlantic 10 conference play with an overall record of 8-1-2, moving them to third place in the A-10 standings.
“To get a win and a tie this weekend against teams we’ve struggled against in the past, we’re really excited going into the rest of conference play,” Mannella said.
The Hawks have three away games in a row; after Sunday’s match in New York, they travel to the University of Rhode Island on Thursday, and end back in Philadelphia at LaSalle University on Sunday .
This team is no stranger to a long string of away games, as they the same trend in their schedule during non-conference play. Mannella is confident that they will succeed on the road these next few games.
“We’re ready to move on and get focused for Rhode Island,” Mannella said.
