The Fairleigh Dickinson University women's soccer team (0-1) suffered a 2-1 road loss to open its 2010 season Friday night at Manhattan in Riverdale, NY.
With a little over 11 minutes into the game, Manhattan's Tara Gleason took a cross from Caroline Morse and found the back of the net to put the Jaspers up 1-0.
In the 25th minute of the first half, junior Bailey Popowich (Yorkton, Saskatchewan/Yorkton Regional) took the deflection off a free kick and found freshman Elizabeth Langer (Clinton, N.J./Voorhees), who found the back of the net to tie the game at one. The goal was the first for Langer in her collegiate career.
Nearly eight minutes into the second-half, the Jasper's went back up, 2-1, as Allison Pfeiffer scored on a rebound that hit the post. The goal turned out to be the game-winner for the hosts.
Junior Stephanie Tanzi (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) made five saves between the posts for the Knights, while Kara Davis grabbed four saves for Manhattan in net to earn the win.
Manhattan held a 16-10 advantage in shots and a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
"I really liked what I saw tonight," said Head Coach Renee Montana. "It was a hard-fought game. Manhattan capitalized on our mistakes, and we will look to fix them this week. The mistakes are very correctable."
"Lisa Curti came up big for us tonight and was the player of the game. She set the bar very high, and if we all perform like she did, we will be fine. We are looking forward to turning it around and getting ready for Seton Hall on Sunday."
The Knights are back in action on Sunday, August 29, when they host Seton Hall for their 2010 home-opener at 1:00 p.m. at University Stadium in Teaneck.
