George Washington University
<b>RICHMOND</b>
Women's Soccer Loses Tangle With Richmond, 3-2
10/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 20, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - The George Washington women's soccer team twice cut two-goal deficits to one, but a penalty-kick goal by Richmond in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner as the Colonials fell to the Spiders, 3-2, in Atlantic 10 play at Mount Vernon Field on Saturday afternoon.
GW (6-8-0, 1-6-0 A-10) trailed by two goals on two occasions in the second half, but twice managed to close to within one on goals by freshman Cynthia Gamboa in the 63rd minute and sophomore Emily Gower in the 87th. However, Richmond (6-8-0, 3-3-1 A-10) answered GW's first goal less than two minutes later and withstood the Colonials' late-match rally.
Richmond struck early on Melanie Varga's opportunistic goal in the fifth minute, her first of the season. Varga knocked down a clearance attempt by a GW defender and deposited an 18-yard strike from the right side into the left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.
The Spiders had a chance to go up 2-0 in the first half, but GW redshirt junior goalkeeper Amie Kern made a diving save on Kristen Stalter's penalty kick in the 28th minute. Richmond did manage to take a two-goal lead in the second half when Jen Ruhe took Varga's through-ball and placed it past Kern from 15-yards out on the left side at the 49:19 mark.
Gamboa scored her first collegiate goal to narrow the margin to 2-1 in the 63rd minute. Gamboa charged the front of the net and bodied in a headed cross from senior Nicole Trickett. Junior Erica Wright was credited with an assist on the initial cross to Trickett from the right wing.
UR responded quickly, earning a penalty kick courtesy of a GW handball inside the 18-yard box. Kern was unable to make a play as Sarah Hilt placed the penalty attempt into the left side-netting.
Gower once again trimmed the deficit to one with less than four minutes to play, racing toward the right post and heading in a loose ball in front of the net. The Spiders smartly held possession during the final 3:26 to earn their first victory over the Colonials since 2002, a span of four matches.
Kern finished with three saves on 15 shots, while Richmond goalkeeper Kate Hudson had five stops on nine shots. The Spider held a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
GW's soccer programs will host Alumni Weekend at Mount Vernon next weekend, beginning with the women's match against Temple Friday, Oct. 26, at 12:00 pm.
