Box Score LYNDHURST, N.J. – The Felician University women's soccer team concluded its 2021 non-conference schedule with a 3-2 loss to visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College on Wednesday afternoon at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex.
Junior Lindsey Riera (Belleville, N.J./Belleville) and sophomore Nicole Jenal (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) notched game-tying goals for Felician (1-9). But the Spartans emerged victorious when junior Amanda Fuchs-White (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook) registered an unassisted marker with 36 seconds left in regulation time.
St. Thomas Aquinas (4-6) took the lead just 92 seconds into the action. Senior Caitlin Speranza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) took possession of a loose ball and unleashed a successful blast from the top right of the 18-yard box. It was the first shot attempt of the match for either side.
The hosts drew even during the ninth minute when Riera ran onto a short through-ball from senior teammate Paloma Garcia (Union City, N.J./Union City) and got off a shot which bounded off the fingers of STAC goalkeeper Colleen Stevens (Ellenville, N.Y./Ellenville) and safely into the net. A failed Golden Falcon clear of a Spartan cross during the 32nd minute turned into an own goal, however, and STAC carried a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Fewer than eight minutes into period two, Felician again equalized after gaining a corner kick. Carlie Koziol's (East Rutherford, N.J./Becton) launch reached the far post and the head of Jenal, who finished for a 2-2 score.
The teams each grabbed momentum during the time that followed. Felician's best chance to take the lead came when Katinka Ummels (Urmond, Netherlands/Graaf Huyn College) pulled up for a long-range shot during the 81st minute that bounded off the left goalpost. With fewer than four minutes remaining, Felician sophomore keeper Brieanna Martins (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) stonewalled STAC's Ileana Santiago (Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers) on a 1 v. 1 opportunity, and Santiago sent the rebound over the crossbar.
Moments later, however, Fuchs-White pressured Martins into a miscue, executed a takeaway, and went around the keeper to push the ball into an empty net for the game-winner. Martins was credited with eight saves and Stevens earned the victory with five stops.
The Golden Falcons, who scored multiple goals in a game for just the second time this season, were defeated by a one-goal margin for the sixth occasion in 2021.
Felician hosts its Senior Night contest on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against Wilmington (Del.) University.
