Women's Soccer Posts 3-2 Exhibition Win Over Albany

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Bronx, N.Y. - Following an hour delay due to a heavy thunderstorm, Fordham's Lane Cronin and Clara Gastaldi scored 21 seconds apart in the second half, giving the Fordham women's soccer team a 3-2 exhibition win over the Albany Great Danes at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx.

"I was happy with tonight's overall team performance as we were able to see a lot of positives come from this game," said head coach Jessica Clinton.  "It was our first game and we were able to have everyone play.  Having Lane, Amanda and Clara score this evening was terrific and two of the goals were 21 seconds apart!"

Each team scored once in the first half, beginning in the 37th minute, when Fordham got on the board.  Nicol Natale took the initial shot from near the top of the box, which was stopped by Albany goalkeeper Alana Olivieri.  The rebound would go to freshman Amanda Miller, who netted the opening goal of the game for the Rams.

Just four minutes later, Albany knotted the game at one on a shot by Meghan Cavanaugh, as she rifled a shot from 25 yards out to the upper right corner.

The Great Danes then grabbed the lead early in the second half, when Alexa Schneider scored from eight yards out, slipping a shot inside the right post in the 48th minute.

Fordham rallied back to tie the game at two in the 68th minute, when Brianna Blunck's cross one-hopped to Lane Cronin, who knock the ball into the Albany net.

It then took only 21 seconds for the Rams to regain the lead at 3-2.  This time, Brooke Salmon set up Clara Gastaldi for a blast from 20 yards out, which found the lower left corner of the goal.

The Rams held tough over the final 23 minutes to hold on for the win.

"Our leadership on the field and communication from our group was very good and seeing our first years step into the game and connect with our returners was great.  We can walk away from this exhibition match feeling good about the outcome and what we saw, but also recognize we have a lot of work to do to get where we want to," said Clinton.

The Fordham women's soccer team opens regular season action a week from today at DePaul, beginning at 4:00 PM EST. 

BOX SCORE - Fordham 3, Albany 2

SCORING SUMMARY
FOR - Amanda Miller (1) - 36:50 - Assist: Nicol Natale
UA - Megan Cavanaugh (1) - 40:55 - Assist: none
UA - Alexa Schneider (1) - 47:02 - Assist: none
FOR - Lane Cronin (1) - 67:20 - Assist: Brianna Blunck
FOR - Clara Gastaldi (1) - 67:41 - Assist: Brooke Salmon

Shots - Fordham 23, Albany 6
Corner Kicks - Fordham 6, Albany 6
Goalkeepers - FOR - Megan Fitzgerald (45 minutes, 1 GA), Adaeze Obinelo (28 minutes, 1 GA, 1 SV), Colleen Hickey (17 minutes, 1 SV); UA - Alana Olivieri (45 minutes, 1 GA, 3 SVS), Chloe Borasky (45 minutes, 2 GA, 7 SV)