Seton Hall women’s soccer fell to the Columbia Lions on Sunday in its second contest of the season, 4-2, away at the Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium in Manhattan, N.Y.
Columbia got the scoring started less than five minutes into the first half. Emily Koe of the Lions crossed the ball from the left side 10 yards out, finding Natalie Neshat who headed it past Pirates goalkeeper Anna MacLean for a 1-0 lead.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
The Pirates knotted the score back up in the 16th minute, with Julia Stirpe sending a shot at Lions goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, which Whitehouse was unable to control. Siobhan McGovern then followed up, blasting the rebound into the back of the net, retying the game and getting the Pirates on the board.
Columbia’s offense burst to life later in the half, scoring two goals in rapid succession between the 28th and 30th minutes. The first goal came when Holly Neshat sent a crisp pass to the left foot of Natalie Neshat, who made short work firing her second goal of the contest just inside the left post past MacLean, extending the lead to 2-1. Minutes later, Columbia managed a fast break on the Pirate defense, resulting in a goal when Rachel Alexander connected on a feed from Maddie Temares, firing the ball into the net from 20 yards out.
Down 3-1, Seton Hall battled back in the final seconds of the half to cut Columbia’s lead to one goal. Out 20 yards, Pirate midfielder Cassy Harrigan launched the ball from the right side to the upper left corner of the net past Whitehouse to enter the second half with the score 3-2.
Columbia returned with a vengeance in the second half though, tallying a goal just one and a half minutes after kickoff. Koe took the ball up the left side and rifled a shot past MacLean from 25 yards out. Having regained their previous two-goal lead, the Lions proceeded to lock down Seton Hall’s offensive efforts completely for the remainder of the match.
With all their second half scoring attempts stifled, the Pirates were forced to leave Manhattan with a 0-2 record, but they will return with a chance for redemption in four days time when they face a 2-1 Fordham team on Aug. 31.
Bob Towey can be reached at robert.towey@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @BobTowey5.
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