Seton Hall
Pirates lose 1-nil in shutout defeat to LIU
Date: September 7, 2019By: Heaven Hill
After their road game against the Monmouth Hawks was cancelled in the 11th minute due to lightning, the Lady Pirates in their fourth game under Ciara Crinion were stunned by the winless LIU Sharks by a score of 1-0 in Whippany, NJ.
The matchup started out similar to how Seton Hall’s nail biter against the Lafayette Leopards did, with a ton of fouls and offsides calls within the first few minutes. Long Island’s freshman forward Maria Orozco and sophomore midfielder Emily Poole combined for three early fouls, while Pirate midfielder Syndey Kulenguski was also whistled within the first ten minutes. The Sharks were called for two offsides violations as well, spoiling early scoring chances.
The main difference between this game and Seton Hall’s win over Lafayette was that against the Leopards, Seton Hall wasn’t nearly as aggressive when it came to getting shots and shots on goal until the second half began. However, in this contest the Pirates came out firing with four shots on goal early from midfielders Cassandra Harrigan, Izzy Engel and Saga Sigurdottir.
They were all saved by LIU’s freshman goalie Kayla DeTreux, but it was interesting to see Crinion’s team begin the game with more of a sense of urgency, rather than come out guns blazing in the second period.
Substitutions were made and multiple fouls were called on both teams, including one on the hero of the game against Lafayette, Alyssa Reszkowski, before the Sharks netted the only goal of the evening in the 43rd minute.
An absolute beauty off the foot of freshman midfielder Grace Cagnina for the first goal of her college career managed to sneak in behind Harpa Johannsdottir, the BIG East Freshman of the Week, to give LIU a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The Hall now entered halftime with their backs against the wall, searching for a way to respond.
The Lady Pirates came out in the second half with an increased desire to score. As the clock ticked on, they knew that at least knotting the game up at one goal apiece was imperative, but unfortunately Seton Hall couldn’t manage to find the back of the net.
Crinion‘s pep talk at halftime definitely had an effect on the team as they fired 10 shots in the second period, but only two, from Laura Hooper and Kulenguski, were on goal and saved by DeTreux. The missed opportunities, along with five offsides calls on the Hall, began to foreshadow the eventual final result.
The game wrapped up with three late foul calls on Emily Caza, Engel and Marissa Aniolowski as Seton Hall dropped to 1-2 on the season with the tough loss. The Pirates return to the Red Bulls Training Facility next Thursday to take on the struggling Siena Saints, with yet another opportunity to match their win total from last season. The Pirates hope to see if they can combine their defense from the win over Lafayette with their aggressiveness from this game to secure the win.
Heaven Hill can be reached at heaven.hill@student.shu.edu.
