NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Fairleigh Dickinson women's soccer freshman
Noam Kedem scored her first collegiate goal late in the second half, but her team could not complete the comeback in falling to Central Connecticut State on the road, 2-1.
The Knights (2-7-3, 0-1-1 NEC) surrendered a goal in each half to the Blue Devils (8-1-2, 2-0 NEC) and trailed 2-0 after 75 minutes of play. Kedem netted her goal with 3:19 remaining in the match, and Fairleigh Dickinson pressed to try for another goal to equalize. CCSU, however, stopped the comeback bid by holding the Knights without a shot for the rest of the period.
Despite giving up the two goals, junior goalkeeper
Amanda Fitzgerald turned in a noteworthy performance for the Knights, saving a season-high nine shots.
"From our perspective, it was one of our best games of the year," said head coach
Eric Teepe after the game. "We controlled play for the majority of the game. Had an early goal that was called back on an offside call. They then go on a counter and score, but we continued to battle throughout. We had chances throughout the game. We got caught on counter for second one as well, but they kept battling and I'm proud of how they played. Now we have to find a way to keep playing this way every time we step on the field."
FDU pressed on the attack early with shots from junior
Stasi Torchia and sophomore
Sofia Albertsson. Possession stayed with the Knights for most of the first 10 minutes of play, with the Knights keeping the ball in CCSU's half of the field.
Fitzgerald saved the Blue Devils' first shot of the match in the 14th minute, but a cross in front of the net was finished by CCSU senior Charlotte Maurer a few minutes later to put the Blue Devils up 1-0 after 20 minutes.
The Knights kept battling, pushing for an opportunity to equalize. Junior
Jackson Bennett fired a left-footed shot with a clear path to goal in the 24th minute, but the ball missed just wide to the left. Later in the half, Albertsson received a pass on the far side and launched an on-target shot, but the CCSU goalkeeper stopped the shot to preserve the 1-0 score.
Coming out of halftime, FDU supplied the early offensive pressure with sophomore
Viktorija Miseljic challenging the CCSU defense with a shot in the 49th minute. Bennett also provided FDU with a good scoring chance a couple minutes later, receiving a pass in the box from sophomore
Andrea Garcia and striking a hard shot that was saved by the CCSU keeper.
The Blue Devils responded with three shots of their own on a counter push, but Fitzgerald made all saves to keep the Knights within a goal of tying the match, including a diving stop with her left hand on the third shot in the 57th minute.
CCSU, however, continued to pepper Fitzgerald with shots and one of the shots resulted in an insurance goal in the 74th minute.
The Knights rallied late in the half, with senior
Elma Kolenovic crossing a ball from the far side into the box that Albertsson redirected toward Kedem, and Kedem finished the ball for her first career goal, making it 2-1 with 3:19 remaining. However, CCSU denied FDU any further scoring chances the rest of the way to hold on for the win.
By notching an assist on Kedem's goal, Kolenovic reached 50 points for her career, becoming the fifth Knight to reach the 50-point mark. The senior now has 12 career assists, moving her into a tie for fifth in FDU history.
For Albertsson, the assist was the sixth of her career and moved her to 28 career points and the top 15 among all Knights in total points.
The Knights return to University Stadium Sunday afternoon for their next NEC match, facing Robert Morris at 4 p.m.
