The Hawk

Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Sports

DeBernardo and teammates struggled in two games this week.

Saint Joseph's women's soccer team is in the middle of their longest, most grueling road trip of the season. The Hawks will eventually go 21 days without hosting a game on the astroturf of Finnesey Field.

Falling to Lehigh 1-0 on Friday, followed by a 2-0 loss to the Princeton Tigers on Sunday afternoon, St. Joe's fell short of capturing their first win away from Hawk Hill.

As the offense was shutout, goalie Megan Bastianelli, '10, posted the two highest save marks of her career, coming up with 27 in the two matches combined.

Friday night ended on a sour note with the tough loss to Lehigh. With the game scoreless at halftime, Bastianelli and the Hawks defense, comprised of Kelly Galen, '08, and Taylor Carr, '10, Kaitlyn Grimes, '11, and Sarah O'Malley, '10, embraced the challenge by turning away every Mountain Hawk opportunity.

Lehigh changed goalies at halftime, but the Hawks had trouble against both keepers. However, Lehigh was able to capitalize as Danielle Fritz came off of the bench to break the tie in the 74th minute, taking a pass from Melissa Montalvo in the box and putting the ball in the back of the net for the game's only goal.

Thirteen of the Mountain Hawks combined for 29 shots as Bastianelli was busy in the early stages of the match. Although allowing a plethora of shots, the defense teamed with their goaltender to keep the Hawks within striking distance until the final whistle.

On the other end of the field, captain Shannon Osborn, '08, and Carly Salter, '11, helped orchestrate the Hawks' offense; the duo combined for seven shots on the night.

Attempting to rebound against Lehigh, St. Joe's traveled to then-winless Princeton. Entering the game, Princeton's 0-4-1 record was deceiving. The Tigers had already battled three Big East teams as well as Pac-10's Washington State before facing St. Joe's.

Princeton's offense was able to put pressure on the Hawks early on in the contest. Through 16 minutes, Princeton forced seven shots on goal and found a decent scoring opportunity off of a corner kick.

The Hawks defense stayed strong early, answering every Princeton challenge; however, Vic Anagnostopoulos took a pass from Marci Pasenello and beat the Hawks' defense in the 32rd minute. The Hawks found themselves very much in the game at half despite a lone shot from Salter and one corner kick in the first half.

Continued...

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