Late Goals Propel USC Upstate Over VMI, 3-2

Women's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

Youngstown State Defeats VMI, 3-1

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Youngstown State Penguins rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit, scoring three second-half goals to defeat the VMI Keydets, 3-1, in women's soccer action Friday at Patchin Field in Lexington.

After a Simone Jimenez goal in the 28th minute, VMI (1-1) took a 1-0 advantage into the intermission, but Allison Ludwig was credited with YSU's (1-1-1) first goal on a corner kick. Ludwig's ball appeared to deflect off VMI keeper Amanda Berrios, carom off a Keydet defender and go into the goal. Following that, Ludwig scored again 14 minutes later and Jade Flory capped the scoring with an 80th minute tally, accounting for the final margin.

The early moments of Friday's contest were comprised mostly of midfield play, as neither team got a shot off until the 4:56 mark. The first shot on goal was off the foot of Liz Affronti, stopped by YSU netminder Ali Viola at the 6:30 mark.

A series of corner kicks followed, with several for both teams, but neither team seriously threatened until 27:13, when a through ball found the feet of Sarah Putney deep in the Penguin zone. Putney fired a shot towards Viola that was stopped, but the Penguin keeper lost control of the rebound. It rolled directly to Jimenez, who drilled a shot into the back of the net for her second goal of the season, putting VMI up 1-0.

There were just two shots on goal the remainder of the half, as the defenses struggled in the midfield and the Keydets took a 1-0 edge to halftime. Both teams attempted six shots in the opening period, with Viola making four saves and Berrios stopping two tries.

The offenses appeared to wake up early in the second half, however, as the sun was obscured by clouds and the temperature began to fall. Christina Gontarski got a quality shot try in the 52nd minute, and moments later, Erica Putney forced Viola to make another save. YSU executed a counterattack, but Ludwig was stopped by Berrios, which would be the final shot on net before the Penguins' opening goal of the contest, which came in the 59th minute.

The Keydets took control of the pace for several minutes after the score, with both Allie Segura and Sarah Strand testing Viola, but it was Youngstown State who got the next goal, a 73rd minute tally by Ludwig. A deep ball found YSU's Flory for a two-on-one breakaway, and she then found her teammate for the go-ahead score with 18 minutes left.  The Penguins would add an insurance goal seven minutes later, when Flory made a deep run off a long pass, and got off a quality shot to the lower right corner, capping the scoring at 3-1.

“The toughest thing about this match was that I felt we outplayed them for 70 minutes,” said VMI head coach Bryan Williams. “Our combinations and ball work was just the way we want, and we gave ourselves a great number of chances. We just came up short in finding the net. We give Youngstown State credit, they saw the chance to press forward and took advantage. We certainly had to contend with their strategy of pushing three forward, but our speed was good. We made a couple of mistakes that hurt us. Amanda Berrios and the rest of our back line got a good lesson today in what it means to face a counterattacking team, and I think we'll learn from this and be better for it. Overall, I am happy and I think the effort in creating goal-scoring chances was very good.”

The setback evens the all-time series between the teams at one win apiece, as VMI had beaten YSU in 2005 for the Keydets' first win ever over a Division I program. The contest also denied VMI its first 2-0 start since 2007.

VMI will return to action Friday, September 2, as the Keydets play host to Southern Virginia to wrap up the season-opening homestand. The match is set for 2 p.m., and the VMI men's soccer team will take on Army at 5 p.m.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Liz Affronti

#17 Liz Affronti

M/F
5' 5"
Freshman
Amanda Berrios

#16 Amanda Berrios

F/GK
5' 7"
Senior
Christina Gontarski

#14 Christina Gontarski

D
5' 5"
Senior
Simone Jimenez

#6 Simone Jimenez

M/F
5' 9"
Junior
Erica Putney

#5 Erica Putney

D
5' 4"
Freshman
Sarah Putney

#8 Sarah Putney

M/F
5' 5"
Freshman
Allie Segura

#15 Allie Segura

M/D
5' 4"
Freshman
Sarah Strand

#10 Sarah Strand

MF
5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Liz Affronti

#17 Liz Affronti

5' 5"
Freshman
M/F
Amanda Berrios

#16 Amanda Berrios

5' 7"
Senior
F/GK
Christina Gontarski

#14 Christina Gontarski

5' 5"
Senior
D
Simone Jimenez

#6 Simone Jimenez

5' 9"
Junior
M/F
Erica Putney

#5 Erica Putney

5' 4"
Freshman
D
Sarah Putney

#8 Sarah Putney

5' 5"
Freshman
M/F
Allie Segura

#15 Allie Segura

5' 4"
Freshman
M/D
Sarah Strand

#10 Sarah Strand

5' 9"
Senior
MF