Women’s soccer defeats American 5-1
Coach Letts and the Rams posted their biggest win of the season, winning 5-1 over American University on Sunday. Photo by Geo Mirador
Women’s soccer’s offense put on a clinic against American University Sunday, Sept. 11 in their 5-1 victory. After a tough, defensive battle against William & Mary on Thursday, the Rams’ offense came alive against American.
Within the first two minutes of the first period, senior midfielder Tori Burress scored on a masterful assist by sophomore Julia Suarez.
Sophomore midfielder Maddi Santo had a breakout game for the Rams on Sunday. Santo notched two goals in the contest, leading the Rams to victory offensively. Suarez and sophomore forward Kelly Graves contributed to the scoring effort by each netting a goal, respectively.
The Rams’ defense carried over momentum from their last matchup against William & Mary, only allowing one goal in the second half. Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Audrey Sanderson had a solid game with three saves.
However, the story of the game was the offensive dominance by the Rams. The Black and Gold had 14 shots in the matchup, whereas American only had five total shots. In addition to the shots on goal, the Rams had six corner opportunities, compared to only two corner opportunities by American. Graves led the Rams with three shots on goal in the matchup. Suarez added to the offensive effort with three total shots as well.
On Thursday Sept. 8, the Rams fell short against in-state rival William & Mary, 1-0.
The Tribe struck early in the 16th minute of the matchup as Sarah Segan scored on a tight pass to give William & Mary the one point edge. However, the matchup became a game of two, stingy defenses.
After the early goal by the Tribe, neither defenses allowed a single goal for the remainder of the contest. William & Mary’s goalkeeper Grace Smith recorded 13 saves while VCU’s defense was able to contain four corner kicks. Sanderson recorded two saves of the three shots on-goal.
The Rams’ offense missed many opportunities to score throughout the match. Rams junior defender Megan Dell had an early opportunity to score in the eighth minute of the first half, but an athletic save by the Tribe goalkeeper kept the Rams scoreless.
This foreshadowed the Black and Gold’s offense throughout the course of the game, as they complied 22 shots during the game, with 13 of those shots being on goal.
Suarez led her Rams on the night with five total shots, while Dell led the team with four shots on goal.
The Rams look to carry on this momentum in their upcoming matchup away against James Madison University Friday, Sept. 16.
Rodney Robinson, Contributing Writer
