Jeff Pawling
Assistant Director, News and Social Media

The Colonials applied pressure and controlled the pace-of-play from the opening whistle en route to a 4-1 Senior Day rout of the Saint Louis Billikens on Sunday morning at Mount Vernon Field.

The start time for the match was moved from 1 p.m. to 11 a.m. because of the threat of Hurricane Sandy along the Eastern seaboard but this earlier-than-normal start time had no ill effects on the Colonials play as they dictated the tempo of the match despite being outshot 16-11 by the Billikens.

Entering the match, the Colonials had scored only one goal in their previous five matches but scoring did not prove to be a problem on Sunday. Sophomore Nicole Belfonti got the Colonials’ scoring started 19 minutes into the match when she received a nice crossing pass from senior Molly Bruh and put it in the back of the net. Adrianna Moya added to the Colonials’ lead 12 minutes later when she scored off a nice pass from Kristi Abbate. GW continued to apply intense pressure, leading to a controversial play in which Molly Bruh unleashed a strike from 30 yards out that deflected off the crossbar. The ball appeared to have been kept out by Saint Louis goalkeeper Katie Walsh but after a scuffle in front of the net for the ball, the side referee ruled that Bruh’s initial shot had caromed into the net, extending GW’s lead to 3-0. Alex Neal would round out GW’s scoring for the day with 24 seconds left in the first half when she took a pass from sophomore Taylor Katz and scored to stifle the little momentum the Billikens had built up in the closing minutes of the half.

In the second half, the Colonials were able to play a “bend-but-don’t-break” style of defense that allowed them to control the ball and run valuable time off the clock, thwarting any chance of a Saint Louis comeback. GW conceded their lone goal of the afternoon 15 minutes into the second half when Billikens’ forward Lindsay Elking unleashed a shot from point blank range that beat the Colonials’ freshman goalkeeper Nicole Fasano.

It was an especially emotional win for the Colonials’ four seniors, Molly Bruh, Adrianna Moya, Samie Cloutier, and Kayley Sullivan, who were honored before the match. Furthermore, this victory will serve as an important momentum builder heading into the offseason.

With the victory, the Colonials closed out their 2012 campaign with an overall record of 5-12-1. Sunday’s win was GW’s first and only Atlantic 10 conference win of the season.

Tory Scheffel
Staff Contributor

Nicole Fasano has all the marks of a spectacular athlete. She lays her body out and leaves everything on the field. In the Friday, October 26^th game she made great saves including two diving saves and left nothing to be ashamed about in the George Washington University’s Women’s Soccer team’s stunning defensive game. Despite their best efforts, GW fell to Butler in a 1-0 loss. GW kept defense strong until the 75^th minute and finally gave up a beautiful goal to Randi DeLong of Butler. This marks GW Woman’s Soccer team’s eigth consecutive loss of the season with only one regular season game left to play.

Highlighting the defense, not only did Nicole Fasano have a great game in goal, Alex Brothers, Alex Neil, Jane Wallis, Samie Cloutier, all had fantastic games, keeping the energy of the defense up and coming at every play with intensity shutting down the infamous Sophia Maccagnone, the freshman leading goal scorer of Butler’s team.

GW Women play their senior game this Sunday at the Mount Vernon campus against Saint Louis.

Rob Bartnichak
Staff Contributor

On a windy Saturday afternoon at the Mount Vernon Campus of The George Washington University, the Colonials’ women’s soccer team fell to the Charlotte 49ers by a score of 4-2. GW was able to get some early pressure on the Charlotte defense, but Lana Suarez of the 49ers was able to notch the first tally of the game in the 11^th minute, giving them a lead they would never relinquish. Jennifer Lee and Alex Meyers would also score for the visiting 49ers in the first half, putting them up 3-0.

The Colonials made a late push in the second half to make a comeback behind goals from Samie Cloutier and Adriana Moya, but would only get as close as 4-2, as Charlotte’s leading scorer Amada Jones was able to hit the back of the net. The Colonials would continue to fight however, but the stingy defense of the 49ers proved to be too much too handle. With the win, the 49ers will improve to 9-4-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 record in the Atlantic 10. On the other side, the Colonials fall to 4-7-1 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

The Colonials will kick off a four-game road trip on Friday against La Salle and will also take on Fordham, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts before finally returning to face Butler on the 26^th.  WRGW Sports coverage of that event will begin at 2:50.