Hamid nets two to put Towson past Saint Francis
By: Courtney Ott, Contributing Writer and Jake Shindel, Senior Editor
The Towson Women’s Soccer team defeated Saint Francis University 3-0 behind two goals from junior Jasmine Hamid and two assists from junior Nia Christopher. Junior goalkeeper Riley Melendez and the team picked up their third shutout win of the season.
Early on, Towson had plenty of scoring chances, with four corner kicks in the first half. They had two shots on goal and five total shots when the first-half timer hit zero.
Hamid opened the scoring for Towson with a goal at the 36:00 mark of the first half. Redshirt junior Phoebe Canoles had a chance with 37:45 left in the first half, but the ball soared just above the net. Christopher and redshirt junior Demi Pierre were each credited with an assist.
Saint Francis had an opportunity to score with just the goalkeeper to beat after a long cross, but the play was ruled offside. Another opportunity came for the Red Flash at 21:30 when a shot went wide right of the goal.
With just under ten minutes left in the first half, junior Maja Hansson stopped a quickly-developing possession for Saint Francis in their offensive zone, and the half ended with Melendez making a save for the Tigers with 1:00 remaining before the break.
“We addressed some issues at halftime, and I think the second half was way better,” Tigers’ Head Coach Katherine Vettori said.
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The Red Flash had a chance to score within the first minute of the second half, but the shot was saved by Melendez. With 42:00 left in the second half, Canoles had a shot that was a near miss from finding the back of the net.
Towson’s second goal of the game came off of another assist by Christopher, who crossed the ball into the box towards Hamid, firing the ball into the goal.
“I told [Hamid] at halftime, ‘We need more from you in the second half, you’re capable of working harder,’” Vettori said. “She’s been on fire and her shots have been very precise.”
With 11:39 left in the second half, Canoles put the game away with a goal off of an assist by junior Khori Banks.
Saint Francis had more scoring opportunities throughout the game, but Melendez and the Tigers’ defense kept any shots from reaching the back of the net.
Despite the shutout win, Vettori said she still saw a lot of things the team can focus on in practice.
“We still need to take care of the ball better, and when we work so hard to win it, we need to pass out of pressure to keep it,” Vettori said. “Also, I think we could still be better in the air, too.”
The Tigers’ next game is Thursday, Sept. 8 at home against Bucknell at 7:00 p.m.
