Seton Hall University
Xavier
Xavier Squeaks Past Women's Soccer; 2-1
10/12/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 12, 2013
CINCINNATI, OHIO - The Seton Hall women's soccer team squared off with Xavier for the first time in school history on Saturday afternoon and though the Pirates generated the majority of looks at net, the host Musketeers escaped with a 2-1 win.
SHU (4-8-2, 2-3-0) outshot Xavier 14-9 on the afternoon, including a 6-0 difference in attempts during the first half.
Though they consistently worked themselves into dangerous areas, the Pirates could not beat XU goalkeeper Katie Markesbery in the first 45 minutes. The Seton Hall attack heaped an abundance of pressure on Markesbery's net from the outset but came away empty handed as the junior made four stops to send the teams into halftime scoreless.
Senior Katie Ritter (Hagerstown, Md.) fired the first of her four shots on net in the fourth minute as SHU pressed to move ahead early. Five minutes later, senior Meghan Hayes (Fredon, N.J.) tested Markesbery with a header but was unable to get it past her.
In the 11th minute, Seton Hall was unlucky not to grab the opening goal as Ritter forced another save and soon after, midfielder Ashley Clarke (Paramus, N.J.) unleashed a shot that rang off the post. Seton Hall nearly opened the scoring once again in the 22nd minute when Ritter found space on the left side of the XU area but her effort was nullified by Markesbery's fourth and final save of the half.
The Hall also had five corner kicks to two for Xavier in the first half but the extra opportunities did not translate to the scoreboard.
Soon after the restart, the Pirates were finally rewarded for what amounted to over 135 minutes of superior attacking play dating back to a 1-0 loss against Creighton last time out. Clarke picked out classmate Marie Klemme (Berlin, Germany) with a pass and Klemme did the honors, sneaking it past a diving Markesbery to give SHU a 1-0 advantage.
The goal was the second of the season for the Berlin native and the fifth of her career. With the assist, Clarke moved to within three of Kelly Smith's all-time Seton Hall record of 22 and now with seven on the year, she stands just one shy of matching the single-season record that she shares with Smith.
Scoring first had been a key for The Hall entering the day as the Pirates posted a perfect 3-0-0 record in the three games in which they had grabbed the opening score but on Saturday, Xavier was able to mount a comeback.
Seton Hall keeper Jennifer Pettigrew (Kearny, N.J.) made her first save of the day two minutes after Klemme tallied the go-ahead goal but XU struck soon after, pulling level on a header from Ellie Eckerle in the 53rd minute.
The teams traded opportunities over the next quarter-hour as both Pettigrew and Markesberry made one save over the span but in the 76th minute, Taylor Dearbaugh was on the receiving end of a pass from Tori Doss and put XU, 2-1, on top with a left-footed strike.
The hosts were force to cling to their slim edge however as the outcome remained very much in doubt up until the final whistle. Seton Hall outshot Xavier 4-1 from that point on, including two shots on net from freshman Frankie Maier (Oradell, N.J.) in the last five minutes. In the end, Markesberry was there to make the stops needed to secure the win for the Musketeers (8-5-1, 1-4-0).
The result was a third-consecutive one goal loss for a Seton Hall team whose eight losses in 2013 include seven by the slightest of margins. The only team to defeat the Pirates by more than one goal this season is Virginia, currently the top-ranked team in the nation.
SHU will return home where it has won three of its last four for a pair of games next week. The Pirates will return to action on Thursday, October 17 against Marquette at 7:00 p.m. before hosting Villanova on Sunday, October 20 in a game that will serve as Senior Day.
