Box Score
BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn women's soccer team fell behind early and could never recover in a 3-0 loss to Towson on Sunday afternoon at LIU Field. The Blackbirds had a chance to take the lead early, and had a number of opportunities in the second half but could not break through as they fall to 2-6-1 on the year.
In fact, LIU had the first chance of the contest in the seventh minute as a cross found senior Shino Kunisawa all alone in front of the net. Kunisawa tried to one-time a shot past the Towson goalkeeper, but Erin Quinn was there to make the save.
Just over a minute later, the Tigers pounced on their first scoring attempt. Katie Ponce was denied on a great stop by senior Jessica Sexton, but the rebound came right to Rhianna Zalewski who slid the ball into the lower-left corner to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, Towson's leading scorer Emily Banes made her mark with a shot from 18 yards out that found the top-right corner of goal to double her team's lead to 2-0. For Banes, it was her 10th goal of the season.
The score remained the same into the second half, when the Tigers struck again just over two minutes into the period. Ariana Rinda placed a shot into the upper-right corner to build a 3-0 cushion.
LIU made a valiant effort to get back into the match, and appeared to have scored in the 65th minute. A beautifully-placed ball off a free kick by junior Shannon O'Connor found junior Jen Spicer, who headed a shot into the back of the net. But the far-side line judge ruled that LIU was offsides on the play, negating the goal.
Minutes later, Kunisawa was in behind the Towson defense but Quinn was there once again to make a diving stop and keep the shutout intact. In the 83rd minute, freshman Jenn Peters tried one last time to break LIU's scoreless string but her shot from in close was stopped by the Tigers goalie.
For the contest, Towson held a 14-8 edge in shots but the two teams each had six shots in the second half. Sexton finished with six saves for the Blackbirds, while Quinn and Jess Evanick combined on the shutout for Towson.
LIU Brooklyn concludes non-conference action on Sunday, Sept. 29 at Columbia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.