Aug. 28, 2009
Box Score
PHILADELPHIA -
An 87th-minute goal from Jill Camburn gave the Providence Friars a 2-1 victory over the Saint Joseph's women's soccer team on Friday night. The match, played through intermittent rainstorms, was the season opener for both teams.
After an early goal by the Friars, SJU sophomore striker Maggie Lupinski opened her account for the 2009 season with an equalizer in the 79th minute, but Camburn's dagger sent the Hawks home in defeat eight minutes later.
PC took an early lead when Camburn dispossessed a defender and fired a shot past a sprawling Christine Neal into the bottom left corner of the net in the ninth minute. SJU nearly drew even seven minutes later as Lupinski took off down the left wing, but her shot went just wide of the goal.
The remainder of the first half was both hard-fought and well-played as the teams traded shots over the next half hour, but neither squad was able to find the back of the net.
In the second half, the rains began to pick up and so did the Hawk attack, as SJU had the better of the scoring chances as the clock wound down. The Hawks finally hit paydirt with 11:28 to go as Lupinski settled the ball just inside the 18-yard box, moved past her defender and slotted the tying goal into the bottom left corner.
The draw would be short-lived, however, as Friar midfielder Nicole Benko fired a shot on goal eight minutes later that Neal parried away. Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, Camburn tucked the rebound in just under the crossbar to give Providence the win.
Lupinski led the Hawk offense with three shots in the match. Neal made five saves in her collegiate debut, while PC's Caitlin Walker made two.
"It was good for us to play a tough opponent this early, before the conference schedule," said head coach Jess Reynolds. "We got to see where we stand right away. We know what we need to work on. All in all, we were pleased with the effort."
The Hawks return to action on Sunday afternoon as they host the Binghamton Bearcats at Finnesey Field at 1:00 p.m.
