JEFREY CANOVA, SPORTS STAFFER
Photo: GoBonnies
Rhode Island University women’s soccer team defeated St. Bonaventure University, dropping the Bonnies’ record to 3-5-6 (2-3-2 Atlantic-10) and extending a four-game winless stretch.
In the game’s first minute, Rhode Island midfielder Courtney Poon gave the Rams the lead as she scored a goal in the Bonnies’ defensive third after a turnover by Bonaventure goalkeeper Chiara Gottinger.
From the 15th to the 23rd minute, the Rams’ forwards pressured the Bonnies’ defense as they created chances through their crosses from the right-hand side and two shots on target from the edge of the box. Rams’ forward Sam Haggerty punished the Bonnies’ backline as Gottinger’s swatted ball from a cross landed inside the box to an unmarked Hagerty, slotting the rebounded ball into the net.
Donny George, the Bonnies head coach, said that despite conceding early, his team still controlled the game.
“I thought that we started very well and looked like us. We controlled a large part of the first half, and yeah, we conceded a goal. It’s a mistake, and that’s part of life and soccer,” said George. “Rhode Island had lots of pressure, and I thought we dealt with it as a team. We’re patient, and we like to hit the spaces in behind they’ve left because they sent players high up the field.”
In the 31st minute, the Bonnies found their offensive groove when Bonnies forward Channel Alexander entered the match, allowing the team to change their forwards’ positioning, including Olivia Allen, who switched to center-forward. Allen’s pace and awareness to run behind the center-backs troubled the Rams’ defense.
In the 34th minute, a cross from Bonaventure forward McKenna Robinson into the box caused the ball to bounce onto Rams midfielder Cristina Sallent’s hand and give the Bonnies a penalty kick. Allen gave the Bonnies hope as she converted on the penalty, scoring her fifth goal of the season and fourth consecutive penalty kick.
The Rams (5-5-2, 2-0-2 in conference) ended the first half with ten shots (six on goal) and eight corner kicks; the Bonnies had eight shots (four on goal) and no corners.
In the second half, the Bonnies carried over their offensive prowess with Allen and Robinson continuing to make lightning runs behind the Rams’ defense. Forwards Ami Komori and Alexa Martinos kept dropping deep to deliver long balls to the wingers and the attackers’ switching their positions to find space between the defenders.
George said the Bonnies forwards began switching positions throughout the game since Rhode Island’s defense left space for Allen to exploit.
“On our team, we talk about autonomy, and we want autonomous players, which means we want players that can figure out where the spaces and gaps are on the field and exploit those spaces. We allow our players to rotate and figure out some of that stuff based on what they see on the field,” said George. “We felt that Rhode Island left space in behind that we wanted to exploit. We know one of our strengths with Olivia is her athleticism. She chose to be higher so she could exploit the space.”
In the 51st minute, the Bonnies nearly leveled the score when defender Hannah Walker crossed the ball into the box to a lurking Robinson, who shot the ball towards the outside of the left post.
The Bonnies had another opportunity to tie the game in the 85th minute when after a corner kick, a deflected ball landed inside the penalty area for defender Kenzie Tarmino, who crossed the ball to forward Haylee Smith in front of the net. She, however, missed the target, shooting the ball outside of the right post.
While the Bonnies increased their total shots from ten to 17, surpassing Rhode Island’s 15 total shots and matching the Rams’ shots on target with seven in the second half, they failed to score an equalizer.
The Bonnies will return to action against Virginia Commonwealth University (3-8-3; 2-4-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15 for a conference match. VCU enters the game on a five-game losing streak, failing to score in each game. However, Bonaventure has lost its last four games against VCU.
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