West Haven, C.T- Coming off a hard-fought win against the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire, the Chargers looked to their home turf for another win against the Mavericks of Mercy College. After a quick lead from the Mavericks, the Chargers would work their way back on goals from Sophia Ruh (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) and Erin Smith (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South), but their comeback effort would not be enough as they fall 5-3.
Mercy came out hot as soon as the whistle was blown, taking control of the ball in the Chargers defensive end, to grab the first goal of the game 30 seconds into play. Getting that started off a won ball outside of the circle, they finish another off a lead pass to the circle to take the advantage.
Down 2-0 in the first minutes of the game, the Chargers would push to the Mavericks defensive end but would not find goal until the 13th minute of play. On a corner, a fast-paced insert to Sophia Ruh (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) would give the chance for a straight shot from the top of the circle, but it would be blocked by the fly. Regathering the ball, Ruh would find another straight shot that would get blocked once again and deflection into the air. As the ball is brought down, it falls in front of the goal line, with the Mercy defender and goalie fighting to keep it from crossing the line. Abby Nixon (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip Regional) placed at the back post would fight the diving efforts of both Mavericks players to open scoring for New Haven.
Going into the second quarter, the game remained more consistent between the two teams. Ally Saigh (Grosse Point Woods, Mich./Grosse Point North) being subbed in at goalkeeper saving the six shots that she faced throughout the next 15 minutes of play. Strong defense from both teams would allow the game to be played majority in the midfield with a pass off of possessions. Despite the score at half, the Chargers led in shots 14-9, with 9 corners.
Coming out of half time the Chargers looked to learn their lesson from the first quarter and shut down any fast breaks off the bat from the Mavericks once the whistle was blown. Finding a corner in the first seconds of play, the Chargers took the advantage this time for themselves. The corner inserted to the top and dished to the left, would get away from New Haven, but would find its way back in front of the goal. Erin Smith (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) on the back post would finish off the scramble in front of the goal mouth with a lifted pass to the opposite corner for the equalizer.
The momentum would not stop for the Chargers as they would find a second goal in the third quarter, nearly two minutes after their second. Finding this goal off a corner ounce again, Kat Trammel (Sandy Hook, Conn./Newtown) would insert up to the top to Sophia Ruh (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City). Ruh facing pressure from Mercy's corner defensive unit, would pull to the right and beat one, finding the ball to her strong side and sending a shot to the backboard for the Chargers first lead of the game.
It would not be for another six minutes when Mercy would strike again. A restart in the corner would enter the circle, pulling Saigh off goal, leaving an open net for the third goal for the Mavericks. Nearly a minute later Mercy would bring their lead back to two as they found yet another off a corner. Time would wind down in the third quarter, with the Mavericks holding their two-goal lead and pushing New Haven back into their defensive end for a majority of the last five minutes of the quarter.
The fourth quarter was a comeback effort from the Chargers, needing one goal to bring them back into the game and a second to take the lead. Unfortunately, New Haven would be stopped, spending more time in their circle then their offensive efforts up field. In just a few offensive opportunities that the Chargers did have they would find four shots, but none would find the back of the net. With four seconds left, Mercy would top of their win with a fifth goal, from a reverse shot at the top of the circle.
