Box Score

A trio of freshmen accounted for the first two goals in the New York University women's soccer team's 3-1 season-opening win over Ramapo College on Thursday night, September 1, at Gaelic Park, giving first-year head coach Michele Canning a decisive victory in her collegiate head coaching debut.

Claire Shanahan netted the first goal just seconds before halftime on a feed from fellow freshman Nicole Anzalone to give NYU a 1-0 lead, and Cami Crawford made it 2-0 midway through the second half. Crawford later helped set up a third insurance goal late in the game, giving her three points in her first collegiate contest.

“The freshmen came up big tonight, which is great and shows the confidence they have to step in right away,” said Canning. “We're really excited about how all the girls performed. They've been working hard in preseason, and it showed tonight in how they executed.”

The Violets (1-0) executed all night, outshooting the Roadrunners (0-1) 26-3 and controlling the pace of the game. However, despite several great attempts in the first half, including a Crawford strike that was barely punched over the bar by Ramapo goalkeeper Talia Auslin and a bicycle kick by Ashley McKenzie that was blocked by a defender, it appeared that NYU would have to settle for a scoreless period.

But, with under a minute to play, Anzalone played a through ball to Shanahan, and Shanahan made a long run to the edge of the box and struck a left-footed shot over Auslin for a goal with just 23 seconds left in the half.

With a 1-0 halftime lead, the Violets continued pressing in the second half. Hannah Speer, another freshman, ripped a shot from the right edge of the box that went just high over the crossbar early in the half. Moments later, Leslie Smith earned a free kick just outside the box, but Erin Ahmed's shot sailed high.

In the 65th minute, though, NYU finally broke through again, as Crawford collected the ball near midfield, played a pass to herself around a defender and made a long run towards goal, outracing several defenders. She then placed a low, left-footed shot into the far right corner to make it 2-0.

Any hope for a combined shutout for the Violets' two freshmen goalkeepers, Meg Patten and Jen Chuck, was lost when Ramapo was awarded a penalty kick eight minutes later after a handball in the box. Susan Hayes converted, bringing the Roadrunners to within one goal with 17 minutes to play.

The slim margin was short-lived, however, as just 1:08 after Hayes' goal the Violets struck again. Serra Tumay played a long through ball to Crawford, who chased it down and drove to the end line, drawing the goalkeeper. Crawford then passed to Megan Young, a sophomore making her collegiate debut after missing last season due to injury, who knocked it into the wide-open net to secure the Violet victory.

With a win under its belt to start the season, NYU returns to action on Saturday night when it travels to Hoboken, NJ, to take on the Stevens Institute of Technology, a squad that received votes in the D3soccer.com Preseason Top 25 Poll. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.