By Stacy Troiano
While Sunday’s comeback win at George Mason memorably gave the Pride its second conference win in as many games, Friday’s 1-0 win against a tough Towson team set the right tone for head coach Simon Riddiough and his team to open CAA play.
The Pride controlled the tempo and possession in the first half, getting a number of good looks at the net as the offense has done all season, but they were unable to push across the first goal. Going into the half, the Pride had a 10-2 advantage in shots.
In the second half, Towson showed a little life as they controlled the ball more and had a few more close chances, but the Pride defense denied the Tiger push to keep the game scoreless.
Just under 17 minutes into the second half, junior midfielder Edel Malone would finally convert for the Pride. Malone took a free kick from 25 yards out and ripped a cracker past a diving Brandi Daniels to get the Pride on the board in impressive fashion.
It would be all the Pride would need to secure its first CAA win of the season. Junior goalkeeper Krystal Robens had two saves in what was her second straight shutout and third of the season. The Pride out-shot Towson 17-8 overall and held a 4-1 advantage on corner kicks as they provided the offensive pressure for the majority of the game.
“In the first half, we played really well,” Riddiough said. “In the second half, they tried to disrupt what we were doing, and to be fair, they did a good job of it. But again, it took a piece of brilliance from Edel that got us the win.”
Daniels finished with a season high 10 saves for Towson to keep them in the game, but the pressure from the Pride offense and strong play from the defense kept the Tigers at bay to give the Pride its first conference win of 2007.
The loss was just the second of the year for Towson as their record fell to 6-2 and 0-1 in the CAA. On Sunday, the Tigers got their first conference win, defeating Northeastern 1-0.
Malone’s goal was her third of the year, which puts her second on the Pride behind senior Brooke DeRosa (6). Malone now has three goals and two assists in her comeback season after missing 2006 with a knee injury.
The pair of one-goal wins this weekend, Riddiough said, boosted his and the team’s confidence in their resiliency, determination and ability to find a way to win.
“If we can manage to keep games close, I can guarantee somebody will come up with something special,” he said. “Sunday it was Larkin [Hargraves], Friday it was Edel. Sometimes it’ll be Brooke, sometimes it will be Sue [Weber], sometimes it’ll be someone else. We have enough weapons to get something accomplished.”