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The opening night of the women's soccer season was an eventful one on Friday night at Gaelic Park in the Bronx. Fordham controlled most of the play throughout the game, but needed a late marker by Kristina Maksuti to force the game into overtime. However the comeback effort fell short, as Manhattan was awarded a penalty kick just 2:55 into overtime, which Aislinn McIlvenny converted on to give the Jaspers a 2-1 victory.
From the outset of the game, the Rams were aggressive, as they charged out with the first six shots of the game. The Jaspers though struck first on the scoreboard in the 25th minute, as off a free kick, the Jaspers got a quick cross and header goal by Lizzy Carlson.
The score remained 1-0 until deep into the second half, when Fordham took advantage of a miscue by Manhattan goalkeeper Kristen Skonieczny. With just under four minutes left and the ball heading toward the Manhattan endline, Skonieczny tried to grab the ball away from Fordham's Mary Solimine. Solimine was able to ward off the Manhattan netminder and get a cross into the box right onto the head of Kristina Maksuti, who knocked the ball into the wide open net to tie the game at one.
The game remained tied and headed into overtime, where Manhattan got the game-winning goal on a penalty kick. A long ball was put ahead on the right side, where Fordham's Nicole Bates and Manhattan's Lauren Barton went shoulder to shoulder contact initially, but as the two continued toward the ball, Barton and Bates' legs got tied up with Barton going down. The referee immediately called for the penalty kick, which Aislinn McIlvenny knocked in on the lower right side of the goal for the game-winner.
The Fordham women's soccer team is next in action on Sunday, August 25th, when the Rams take on St. John's at Belson Stadium in Queens, New York. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App, beginning at 1:00 PM.
