Women’s Soccer Falls At Colgate In Patriot League Match

The Army women’s soccer, in the middle of a three-game road trip, team fell 3-0 to Colgate Sunday afternoon in a Patriot League match at Van Doren Field in Hamilton, N.Y.

The Raiders improved to 11-5-0 overall and 3-3-0 in the Patriot League to keep alive their hopes for a berth to the postseason tournament. Army, whose winless streak is now at 10 (eight losses, two ties), slipped to 4-11-2, 0-4-2 PL.

Army controlled the ball in the first 30 minutes of action, but Colgate capitalized when Jessica Bitsack headed a pass from Franny Iacuzzi into the Black Knights’ net at 29:23.

Eight minutes later, Raider Kelly Niland doubled Colgate’s lead to 2-0 after beating Army goalkeeper Rebecca Garcia on a penalty kick in the 37th minute

"We had more chances than Colgate in the first half," said head Army coach Gene Ventriglia. "A defender got beat on the first goal, while the penalty kick broke our backs."

Army’s best chance to score came seven minutes into the second half when freshman Elizabeth Betterbed booted a hard shot that keeper Carly Sousa nixed when she tipped it over the crossbar with her diving save to the right.

Colgate closed out the scoring with its lone goal in the second half coming in the 64th minute on Bitsack’s second tally of the game when she beat backup keeper Brittany Fearnside on a rebound shot in front of the net. Frearnside, playing the second half, finished with four saves in her collegiate debut.

The Black Knights outshot Colgate, 8-6, in the first half and 15-14 for the game, while the Raiders held a slim 7-6 corner kick advantage.

"The injuries have forced us to play players out of position," commented Ventriglia. "It has been disruptive for us, and we just have to get through the rest of the year, and then regroup. Every so often you suffer through a season like this. Hopefully it will be a long time before it happens again."

The Black Knights, who were eliminated this weekend from contention for the league’s postseason tournament, close out their 2006 slate at Lafayette Friday.

The Black Knights have had solid chances to score despite having to shift players around because of a bout of injures in the back, but has either run into a hot goalkeeper or could not finish.

Photo: Elizabeth Betterbed Photo Credit: AAC