The Elon University women’s soccer team was unable to follow up on its first win in Colonial Athletic Association play as it lost 3-1 to the College of William & Mary. Three unanswered goals from the Tribe canceled out freshman forward Grace Bennett’s opener for the Phoenix.
Elon went ahead with their first shot of the match at the 9:32 mark. A failed clearance by the William & Mary defense allowed Bennett to gain possession and fire home her third goal of the season.
Bennett looked to double her tally soon after in the 17th minute, but her effort was denied by junior goalkeeper Caroline Casey.
The Tribe found the equalizer in the 29th minute. Senior forward Emory Camper played in freshman forward Sami Grasso, whose shot deflected off of Elon senior goalkeeper Kate Murphy and into the back of the net.
William & Mary then took the lead through Rachel Moore in the 39th. Junior forward Katie Johnston’s cross caused all sorts of problems for Elon as Murphy collided with a teammate and Moore was able to tap in her third goal of the season.
Things went from bad to worse for the Phoenix as head coach Chris Neal was given his marching orders after receiving a red card less than a minute after Moore’s goal.
In the 50th minute, Elon assistant John Pardini was issued a yellow card.
The Tribe doubled their advantage early in the second half. In the 50th minute, junior midfielder Leci Irvin got on the end of a cross from junior midfielder Barbara Platenberg, ran into space down the right wing and finished past Murphy.
Platenberg looked for a goal of her own in the 55th minute, but Murphy was able to corral her headed effort.
Junior midfielder Alissa Pantuosco looked to pull one back for Elon in the 66th minute, but her shot was blocked by the tribe defense.
Senior forward Marissa Russo’s shot in the 70th minute came close to cutting Elon’s deficit, but Casey was there to make one of her two saves of the afternoon.
The Tribe had four chances in the final 10 minutes to extend their lead and failed to do so. In the end, three goals was enough to give the Tribe their fifth win in CAA play.
With the loss, Elon drops to 1-6 in CAA action and will be on the road for their two remaining games this season. The first of which will be on Friday, Oct. 24, when the Phoenix travels to take on Towson University at 2 p.m.