The Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team was defeated Sunday afternoon in its home-opener, 3-0, by Seton Hall at University Field in Teaneck. With the victory, the Pirates improve to 1-1-0 on the season, while the Knights fall to 0-2-0 overall.
In the first half, both teams played to a draw until Seton Hall's Amy Ruhe found the back of the net in the 29th minute of the first half to put the visitors up 1-0.
Seven minutes later, Shannon Desmond of Seton Hall was also found the back of the net to give the Pirates a 2-0 advantage.
In the second half, Ruhe scored her second goal of the game in the 58th minute to put Seton Hall up 3-0, which would be the final outcome.
The Knights had a couple of opportunities in the second half to put something together, but each time the Pirates were able to break the momentum.
Although she took the loss, junior Stephanie Tanzi (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) had an unbelievable game in the net for the Knights. She had 11 saves, with many of them coming in heavy traffic in front of the net. Freshman Sage DoVale, making her collegiate debut, played the final 20 minutes in goal for the Knights and contributed four saves.
"We got ourselves into a big hole in the first half because we didn't come out strong," said Head Coach Renee Montana. "It was unfortunate that we did not show-up right away because we could have given ourselves a chance, but we did fight back. We played a lot better in the second half,"
"Stephanie Tanzi (Smithtown, NY/Smithtown West) was the player of the game for us, and she kept us in the game. We need to say focus and play all 90 minutes. Going to Colorado next weekend for the Air Force Tournament will give us a good test."
The Knights return to action Friday, September 3, as they travel to Colorado Springs, CO to take on Northern Colorado in the Air Force Tournament. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
