The Seton Hall women’s soccer team was unable to generate much offense on Monday night, eventually falling to in-state rival Monmouth by a final score of 1-0.
The lone goal in the contest came off a header from Monmouth attacker Maddie Gibson in the 19th minute. The score came off a cross from outside the box, with Gibson fighting for position and dishing it over Pirate goalie Anna MacLean into the bottom right slot of the net to obtain the eventual game-winner.
The theme of the game for the Pirates, inconsistency, was seen on this play. Although the defense played well before and after the goal, little errors, such as this one, plagued the Hall throughout the night. The team could never find its rhythm, as the Pirates were unable to find a pattern to propel themselves to victory.
“The defense held strong, the defense played well for the most part,” head coach Rick Stainton said. “They had a difficult front they had to go against. We could have done better in some areas where I thought we could have won the ball, or have been first to the ball, and we allowed them to get it. Defending wise, we kept them at bay.”
Kiera Alexander / Staff Photographer
On the offensive side of the ball, Seton Hall was able to get multiple shots off, having only one less than its opponent. What proved to be the difference for the Pirates was the inability to create additional chances off attacking plays. Of the seven shots the team had, only one was on goal. The search for offense forced Seton Hall to experiment with its attack, leading to an uncharacteristic playing style and no results.
“We were trying to build up, yet we were playing into their favor,” Stainton said. “They were very quick on the counter and it was not something we were not aware of, it was that we kept giving it to them. We had to make adjustments and go long and go over the top. Once we got into their end, we were a little tougher to deal with and play with. The issue becomes we did not capitalize on it.”
Seton Hall will next play at home against the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on Thursday, September 13. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m at Owen T. Carroll field.
Robert Fallo can be reached at Robert.fallo@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @robert_fallo.
