Women’s soccer takes a tough loss to Fordham, 2-3, in Double Overtime Sophomore midfielder Brooke Barbuto (Syracuse, NY) scored two sensational goals for Stony Brook, but it was Fordham who had the last laugh. The Rams came back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat the Seavolves 3-2, in double overtime on Sunday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. With the loss, Seawolves fall to 4-3-1 this season while the Rams improve to 4-3-0.
Barbuto’s magnificent free kick in the 38th minute put the Seawolves on the scoreboard first. At the time, the Seawolves won an indirect free kick on the left side of the pitch, outside of the penalty area, 25-yards away from goal. Junior Tiffany Fasullo (Setauket, NY) made the initial touch to Barbuto. Barbuto curved a shot past the wall of Fordham players; the ball hit the inside of the left post and bounced right into the net.
Coming out of locker room with a 1-0 lead, it was Barbuto again who found the back of the opponent’s net in the 62nd minute. Her great footwork and pace allowed her to pass three Ram defenders and put the goal away from 5 yards out to give the Seawolves a 2-0 lead.
Just as the crowd thought it would be a one sided game, the Rams rallied for their come back. In the 66th minute, Fordham won a free kick on the right wing of the middle field. The ball deflected off a Seawolves defender, flew toward the far post, where Katie Sanchez ran in and found the back of the net.
The away team tied the game in the 84th minute through a wing play. A one-two give-and-go left one of the Rams’ midfielders open and she made a low cross into the 6 yard box where a Seawolves defender unfortunately found herself at the wrong place at the wrong time, deflected it for an own goal. The Rams forced the Seawolves into extra time.
The Rams controlled possession most of the time in the extra period, out-shooting the Seawolves 6-0, and was awarded a goal in the last minute. With less than 30 seconds on the clock, the Rams won a corner kick on the right side. Sanchez headed the in-swing corner kick towards the goal. While the Seavolves defender appeared to clear the ball off the goal line, the referee ruled that the ball had crossed the goal line in the air and Fordham stole the win.
Dead ball opportunities proved to be critical as both teams played physically after sound outs at beginning of the match. Freshmen Goal keeper Marisa Viola (Mattituck, NY) gave all her effort as she made 12 saves. The defending line-up lead by Senior Marisa Nucci (Hebron, CN) was solid most of the match. Though they made a couple mistakes, Seawolves players and coaching staff surely will improve their set piece defending in the next game.
The Seawolves will be back in action again this Wednesday, September the 20th, at 7 pm in at the LaValle Stadium.
