Oct. 19, 2008

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The Saint Joseph's women's soccer team's home unbeaten streak was snapped Sunday as the Hawks fell to city-rival La Salle, 2-1, in double overtime at Finnesey Field.

Saint Joseph's (7-5-3, 2-2-3 Atlantic 10) entered today's game 3-0-2 on its home field, and had a great opportunity to score in the opening minute as La Salle misplayed the ball deep in its zone, catching Explorer goalkeeper Melissa Sanger out of position. Unfortunately for the Hawks, Sanger recovered and made the first of her eight saves on a shot by SJU sophomore Lauren Sawyer.

The game remained knotted at zero after the opening 45 minutes as physical play set in.

The Explorers (6-7-3, 2-3-2 A-10) got on the board first in the second half as Lauren Baker put La Salle up 1-0 in the 56th minute. Saint Joseph's junior keeper Megan Bastianelli (Bear, Del./St. Mark's) made a diving save on a shot by La Salle's Dana O'Brien, but could not control the rebound. With the ball free inside the SJU box, Baker gathered the loose ball and blasted a shot into the middle of the net at 55:36 as Bastianelli was unable to recover.

Both teams had plenty of opportunities over the next 30 minutes, as the squads combined for 12 shots.

The Hawks fought back and tied the game in the final five minutes off a free kick. Saint Joseph's got the ball deep into freshman Jen Pfeiffer, only to have the rookie taken down just outside the box and a foul called. On the set piece, freshman Steph Lawall lightly stepped on the ball and senior Allie Dowling drilled a perfectly placed shot over the defensive wall and to the upper left corner, beating Sanger at the 85:20 mark.

Saint Joseph's posted four more shots before the end of regulation, but none were on net.

In the first overtime, La Salle had the best opportunity to score as the Explorers received a penalty kick after one of their attackers were taken down in the top of the Saint Joseph's box. With the game on the line, Bastianelli came up huge for the Hawks, standing her ground and corralling a shot up the middle Girodano.

After a scoreless first extra frame, La Salle made the most of its second scoring opportunity as the Explorers got the ball deep into the Hawks' box. Girodano played the ball to O'Brien, who slipped a well-placed shot to the inside left post to give La Salle the win 1:58 into the second overtime.

For the game, La Salle out shot the Hawks 26-19, and held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks, with both teams combining for 39 fouls.

Individually, Bastianelli was stellar in the loss, making a season-high 14 saves for the Hawks, while Pfeiffer tallied a team-high eight shots.

Saint Joseph's returns to action this Friday at Duquesne at 7 p.m.

***Photos from today's game available at www.sidephotos.com