George Washington women’s soccer opens season with win over St. Francis (PA)
LORETTO, Pa. (Via George Washington University) – The George Washington women’s soccer squad opened 2016 with a 1-0 victory at St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday afternoon at the Red Flash’s Stokes Soccerplex.
The Colonials played a tight first half, edging St. Francis in shots, 9-8, including a run of five shots within a seven-minute span early on, but could not find the back of the net as the first half ended scoreless.
In the second half, GW broke the stalemate when rookie Olivia Di Cristofaro fed a through ball from the left wing to senior MacKenzie Cowley at the top of the box. Cowley then fended off a defender to place the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to put GW up, 1-0, in the 48th minute. The assist marked Di Cristofaro’s first career point.
The Colonials controlled the ball for much of the second half, owning a lopsided advantage in shots, 10-3, in the final stanza. GW nearly added another goal in the 87th minute when a Cowley pass found redshirt junior Ivana Szwejkowski at the top of the box for a strong shot that hit the crossbar.
+NCAAW: Atlantic 10 preseason poll, all-conference team announced
GW held St. Francis shotless after the 61st minute.
Redshirt junior Miranda Horn began the season with a complete game shutout, tallying six saves in her 90 minutes of play.
Cowley led all players with 11 shots – six on goal – while junior Brittany Cooper added three shots, efficiently hitting her target twice.
The Colonials wrap their season-opening weekend of play at home on Sunday as Cleveland State visits the GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus for a1 p.m. match.
