BALTIMORE, Md. –Both teams entered the night in search of their first win of the year, but a pair of Loyola freshmen lifted the Greyhounds to victory. The Saint Peter's women's soccer team (0-1-1) was held scoreless in a 2–0 loss to Loyola (1-0-1) on Sunday night at Ridley Athletic Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
FIRST HALF: While the Peacocks kicked off first to start the match, the Greyhounds quickly took control and marched up the field, receiving a corner kick within the first minute of play. Off the corner, Loyola's defender Riley Kennel fired off a shot from the six-yard line, hitting the crossbar. Keeping the ball within scoring reach, junior Brigid McElderry received the rebound and laid it off to Taryn Buckley, who buried the finish, making it 1–0 just 90 seconds in.
After two more off-target attempts from Loyola, Saint Peter's found their first real chance on goal. Junior transfer
Julia Pinho Magno forced the Loyola goalkeeper into a diving stop with a low shot from inside the box. Moments later, freshman
Mayla McLean tested the keeper again with a high shot from nearly the same spot, but it was safely collected.
Midway through the half, Loyola doubled its advantage. Freshman Savannah Manset slipped a shot inside the lower right corner just past the 25-minute mark, putting the Greyhounds up 2–0. Loyola kept the pressure on, but the Peacocks' back line stood strong, stopping three back-to-back opportunities to prevent further damage.
Pinho Magno, along with juniors
Jacqui Weber and
Stella Accettola, tried to break the drought before half, but all three attempts sailed high. At the break, Loyola held a 12–5 edge in shots, a 4–2 advantage in corner kicks, and had four different players record multiple attempts.
SECOND HALF: While a lightning delay halted play for about an hour and a half, both teams were fired up to finish the match. Ten minutes into the second half, three fouls occurred–two on Saint Peter's and one on Loyola–and two yellow cards were given to Pinho Magno and
Wilma Thodhlana.
There were only a total of five shots between both teams; the Peacocks' defense settled in after the break, limiting Loyola to just three attempts over the final 45 minutes. Freshman Alex De Barros got the first shot of the half off after 18 minutes of play, though it soared over the goal, and with just under 20 minutes left,
Gianna Grassifulli tried to put Saint Peter's on the board, but the attempt went wide right.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks return to Jersey City on Thursday, August 21, for their home debut at Jaroschak Field against Temple University. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the match will be streamed on the
Peacock Digital Network.
For continuing coverage of Saint Peter's University Athletics, visit SaintPetersPeacocks.com and follow the Peacocks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
