UNH Falls Late to NDSU, 1-0

Sunday, September 1

Burlington, Vt.

3:30 PM

University of New Hampshire

2-1-0, 0-0-0

North Dakota State

2-0-1, 0-0-0

North Dakota St.

New Hampshire

All-Tournament Team member Caitlyn Keenan (Photo by Michelle Bronner)

Photo by: Michelle Bronner

9/1/2019 6:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

New Hampshire takes runner-up in the 2019 TD Bank Classic.

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of New Hampshire women's soccer team faced off with North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon for the title of 2019 TD Bank Classic champion. A strong defensive battle on both sides kept the game level for 86 minutes before the Bison capitalized on a late scoring chance for the 1-0 victory over the Wildcats.

New Hampshire had three players make the All-Tournament team; junior Sofia Borea (Oakville, Ontario), senior captain Caitlyn Keenan (Bow, N.H.) and senior Megan Rumbold (Highlands Ranch, Colo.).

UP NEXT:
The Wildcats return home to Wildcat Stadium this Thursday, September 5 to face Marist at 7 P.M.

GAME INFORMATION:
Date: September 1, 2019 – 3:30 P.M.
Location: Virtue Field – Burlington, Vt.
Attendance: 55
Score: UNH 0 (2-2-0), NDSU 1 (3-0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The first half showed equal scoring chances for both sides but both defenses held strong for the 45 minute shutout.
The first scoring chance came to North Dakota State on a free kick about 20 minutes into the half. A high, arcing kick curved down into the goalmouth but the a leaping Cat Sheppard (Nesconset, N.Y.) caught the ball with ease.
The Wildcats had a great chance of their own in the 29^th minute when reserve Shayna Salis (Bedford, N.H.) joined an offensive rush and received the ball at the top of the 18. Salis, still in motion, fired a shot high and right but it caught the crossbar and bounced out of the danger area.
On a corner kick in the 32^nd minute, Liz Lane (Porter, Maine) sent the ball across into the box, but when a play didn't develop she got the ball back on the top left side of the 18 yard box but a diving save by NDSU's Monica Polgar kept UNH off the board.
In the 36^th minute, Kaylan Williams (Marion, Ind.) battled with a defender at the top of the box and managed to get off a shot to the lower right corner of the net but there wasn't enough speed on it to beat the 'keeper.
UNH's first real scoring chance of the second half came in the 70^th minute on a long free kick from Megan Rumbold but the Wildcats were offsides.
Rumbold got another 20 yard free kick attempt in the 75^th, and her shot curved around the wall but couldn't curve enough to beat the goalkeeper's path.
NDSU finally broke the stalemate in the 86^th minute on a through-ball into the box by Kate Swanis, finding Elyse Huber who shot from right to left and snuck the ball into the lower left corner of the net.
New Hampshire had a few more chances to answer back in the final minute but each shot attempt was blocked by the NDSU backline.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Shots on goal were even at 7-7. UNH led in total shots 16-11.
New Hampshire held a slight edge in corner kick attempts, 5-4. Both team had three in the second half.
Five different Wildcats tallied a shot on net in the contest.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:

Sophomore Cat Sheppard had six saves on the afternoon, a new career-high. In her first four starting appearances she has only allowed three goals (0.75 GAA).
Megan Rumbold was named to the All-Tournament team after scoring UNH's game-winning goal on Friday against Merrimack.
Sofia Borea and Caitlyn Keenan were also named to the All-Tournament team; all three All-Tournament players showed strong presence in the midfield and in their own defensive zone, making key clears and passes down field in both of UNH's tournament games this weekend.