Pioneers Drop 2-1 Battle Against Hartford

Sunday, September 21

12 pm

Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics

3-5-1

Hartford

4-1-3

Hartford

Sacred Heart

Pioneers Drop 2-1 Battle Against Hartford

9/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Senior midfielder Kristin Verrette (Saugus, Mass.) scored her ninth goal of the season on Sunday against the Hartford Hawks on Sunday, but the Hawks scored twice in the second half to win the game 2-1.

Verrette almost put Sacred Heart (3-5-1) on the board in the first two minutes, forcing Hartford goalkeeper Jessica Jurg to make a diving save with a shot from the top of the 18-yard box. In the eighth minute, Dana Cosmedy (Monroe, Conn.) took a Jillian Picinich (Bellmore, N.Y.) pass into the box and put a shot on goal. Jurg came off her line to make the save, keeping the game scoreless. Three minutes later, the Pioneers broke through. Alexis Parlato (Center Moriches, N.Y.) played a throughball to Verrette, who fired a high shot over Jurg from distance and into the net to give Sacred Heart a 1-0 lead. The goal was Verrette's fourth in the last five games.

Hartford (4-1-3) had their first shot on goal in the 29^th minute when Caitlin Smallfield's free kick was taken out of the air by Sacred Heart goalkeeper Talia Schwartz (Roslyn, N.Y.). The Hawks had their best chance to tie the game in the first half in the 31^st minute when Chanel Johnson drew a foul in the penalty area, drawing a penalty kick. Johnson stepped up to the spot and put her penalty off the crossbar, keeping the score 1-0 to the Pioneers heading into halftime.

The Hawks, however, quickly leveled the game in the second half. Johnson took a pass from Aaliyah Ingram and let loose a shot from 20 yards out up and over Schwartz to make the score 1-1 31 seconds into the half. Schwartz rebounded with a pair of saves over the next five minutes to keep the game tied. In the 58^th minute, Hartford's Sidney Spremullo got free behind the Pioneer defense but put a shot off the crossbar. Verrette tried to break the tie in the 65^th minute but had her attempt go wide of the goal. Emily Dawidczyk (Oxford, Mass.) made a deep run into the Hartford third in the 68^th minute, forcing Jurg to make a save and concede a corner kick. Hartford broke the tie in the 80^th minute. Raelynn Mikell put a corner off the crossbar, which Ingram knocked in the rebound of to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. Sacred Heart had two chances late in the game to tie but Hartford's defense was resolute in holding on to its 2-1 advantage.

The Hawks outshot the Pioneers 13-10 on Sunday, putting eight shots on goal to Sacred Heart's five. Schwartz made six saves for Sacred Heart as Jurg stopped four shots for Hartford.

Sacred Heart travels to Brown Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. game.