PHILADELPHIA – Despite a late push in the second half, the Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer team fell short of a comeback in its 2-1 defeat at La Salle Thursday night.
 
The Explorers (5-1-1), the reigning Atlantic 10 conference champions, jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but a penalty kick goal from sophomore Viktorija Miseljic cut the deficit in half with 14 minutes remaining. The Knights (2-6-1), however, could not find an equalizer despite working for three chances in the last 10 minutes.
 
"I felt our kids battled really hard, and I thought we deserved better," said head coach Eric Teepe after the match. "We had to deal with a lot of issues, and it says a lot about the character of our players to continue pushing through it. It was a tough loss in that we dominated play, and we kept fighting, even though the result was not what we wanted."  
 
The Explorers got out to an early lead, scoring on their first shot of the match four minutes in.
 
The Knights countered a few minutes later, as junior Jackson Bennett fed sophomore Sofia Albertsson out on the wing with space. Albertsson crossed into the box, and junior Chloe Chefero was in position for a shot, but the La Salle goalkeeper made the save.
 
FDU kept up the offensive pressure, keeping ball possession mostly on La Salle's end of the field over the next 15 minutes. Miseljic and junior Stasi Torchia each earned shot on goal opportunities off Knight corner kicks, but the shots were saved by the La Salle goalkeeper.
 
The Explorers regained control though in the 24th minute and were able to finish a shot that increased their lead to 2-0, a lead they would hold into the halftime break.
 
Both teams struggled to find opportunities through the first stages of the second half. Sophomore Alyssa Caggiano curled a ball just wide right of the net in the 56th minute off a free kick, representing FDU's best chance at goal through the first 10 minutes of the period. Miseljic also had a clean look at goal off a free kick from 20 yards out that missed high of the net.
 
The best chance of the half for the Knights, however, came when a free kick taken by Madelyn Robbins pushed the ball into the box, and a La Salle defender fouled an FDU attacker, setting up a penalty kick opportunity in the 76th minute. Miseljic elected to take the shot and buried it into the top left corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
 
The Knights continued to push forward and try for an equalizer. FDU let loose two more shots in the 81st minute that were blocked, and senior Elma Kolenovic also hit a shot that went wide left, allowing the Explorers to hold on for the victory.
 
"It was a good step forward," Teepe continued. "We battled hard, found ways to deal with the physical aspect, and we were able to produce better chances in the second half."
 
Knights junior goalkeeper Amanda Fitzgerald saved a shot late in the second half for her only stop of the match.
 
For Miseljic, the goal was the ninth of her career, giving her 24 points for her career as well.
 
Up next, the Knights stay on the road for their final non-conference match of the season, heading to Hartford, Connecticut, to take on the Hartford Hawks Sunday at 1 p.m.