In what looked to be a one-sided affair, the New Haven women’s soccer team pulled out an impressive 2-1 win over American International College on Saturday, Sept. 16. The Chargers seemingly were in their defensive zone for most of the game, as AIC tallied 15 shots with seven going on goal.
New Haven was held without a shot in the first half as AIC had possession of the ball for the majority of the early minutes, firing three shots on goal in the first 21 minutes, forcing Chargers goalkeeper Caitlin Daley to make some big saves. The consistent pressure eventually gave AIC a prime scoring chance, as forward Hannah Storozuk netted the first goal to give the Yellow Jackets an early 1-0 lead.
AIC stayed on the attack for the rest of the first half, sending four more shots on goal, but Daley finished with six saves as the Chargers defense kept it a one-goal game going into the second half.
New Haven’s offense would remain without a shot until the 61st minute when defender Elizabeth Anderson fired a shot that sailed just over the net. The Chargers finally were playing in their offensive zone as midfielder Alida Bates sent a shot to the net but was stopped by AIC goalkeeper Sara Avery.
After a corner kick for AIC, the Chargers broke out on offense and knotted the game at one with midfielder Angelina Schilling’s first goal of the year. New Haven would stay on the attack as they looked to complete the comeback in their first conference matchup of the season. In the 75th minute, defender Riley Drosopoulos netted the game-winning goal that put the Chargers ahead by one.
AIC did not go down without a fight, sending two more on net, forcing Daley to step up again and keep it a one-goal game. In the final minute of play, midfielder Natasha Ferreira took one last shot to tie the game at two, but it hit off the crossbar as they failed to cash in on their final scoring chance. The buzzer would sound with New Haven holding a 2-1 lead, giving them their first Northeast-10 (NE-10) win of the season, improving their record to 3-2.
New Haven will come back to Kathy Zolad Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 19 for their next NE-10 matchup against Adelphi University. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. as the Chargers look to build on their strong start to the season. More information can be found at newhavenchargers.com.
