Kenneth Cook/Photography Editor
The Seton Hall women’s soccer team got off to a slow start in its season opener at the James Madison University Invitational on Friday afternoon. Taking on the William & Mary Tribe, the Pirates’ defense faltered despite a stellar preseason, giving up five goals in the 5-1 loss.
The Pirates had a rough first half defensively. Less than a minute and a half into the game, William & Mary’s Samantha Cordum connected with the back of the net off a through-ball from Elysse Branton, giving the Tribe an early 1-0 lead.
It wasn’t long before the Tribe connected again. Ten minutes after giving her team the lead, Cordum helped the Tribe extend their lead to two goals. Cordum had a scoring chance yet again, but this time Seton Hall’s freshman goalkeeper Anna MacLean successfully deflected the shot, but not away from danger. Despite making the first save, MacLean had no chance at stopping the second chance opportunity she created by deflecting Cordum’s shot directly to the feet of Rachel Moore, who seized the moment and buried it in the back of the net to give William & Mary the 2-0 lead.
The Pirates settled down for the remainder of the first half as they held the Tribe scoreless for the remaining 35 minutes of the half.
The Tribe were quick to score coming out of halftime, however, as Sami Grasso netted another put-back goal for William & Mary in the 54th minute, extending the lead to 3-0.
Seton Hall showed signs of life thanks to a penalty kick goal by senior Amanda Gulli, cutting the three-goal deficit to a two-goal deficit as the Pirates trailed 3-1 with 35 minutes remaining in the game. That would be all of the scoring for the Pirates, however, as the Tribe slammed the door with two goals separated by only 17 seconds in the 67th minute, going on to win the game 5-1.
The Pirates’ offensive woes from last season carried over to today, as they were out-shot 26-5 in the game.
Seton Hall will take the field again on Sunday at 2 p.m. when the team takes on James Madison in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Kevin Huebler can be reached at kevin.huebler@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @Hueblerkevin.
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