BY JONNY WALKER, STAFF WRITER
The St. Bonaventure University women’s soccer team snapped its six-game winless streak Sunday at Jack Coffey Field, defeating Fordham 2-1.
The Rams (2-7-2, 0-2-1) dropped another heartbreaker as the Bonnies (3-5-3, 1-2) capitalized on two, late-scoring opportunities.
Fordham found its offensive footing early, scoring in the 28th minute. Fordham defender Kendall Dandridge headed a corner kick from forward Kristen Cocozza into the top-left corner of the net.
The Bonnies, after having two shots hit the post in the first twenty minutes, finally found the back of the net in the 71st minute. Graduate forward Cristina Torres, St. Bonaventure’s leading goal-scorer, found a gap in the Rams’ backline. Torres received a ball from the midfield with her back to the goal, turned, and fired a left-footed shot directly into a Fordham defender. Torres collected the rebound, took three dribbles inside the 18-yard box, and powered the ball towards the far-post and past the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands.
“You watch that shot over and over, and it just gets better,” said Bonnies head coach Steve Brdarski. “But then again, obviously, it’s a team goal because somebody had to get her the ball, and we had to do work and everything.”
In the 81st minute, Fordham goalkeeper Serena Mensah raced off her line to handle a loose ball. The ball instead found the right foot of St. Bonaventure forward Alexa Martinos. With Mensah still standing near the top of the 18-yard box, Martinos knocked-in the game-winning goal on an open net. The goal was Martinos’ first of her collegiate career.
“The second goal, I think, is just such a gritty goal,” said Brdarski. “You have a great ball that’s sent in from Kenzie Tarmino. You have a great flick by Kacie Filian to keep it alive… then you have Alexa Martinos who… out-worked and totally ran through the wall to get to that ball.”
St. Bonaventure Athletics later named the play its “#Bonnies Electrifying Play of the Week” on twitter.
Brdarsky credits his team’s resilience and relentlessness for the comeback.
“It would have been very easy for us to come up with excuses, but I think our team rallied together,” said Brdarsky. “I think our team stayed strong. I think our team played and worked for each other, and, because of that, you have the result that came on Sunday.”
Despite the thrill of Sunday’s victory, the Bonnies were not getting caught up in the moment.
“There’s no time right now to be emotional,” said Brdarsky. “We got a big victory. We celebrated and got a little bit of ice cream, frozen yogurt—you know, treated the girls. But that’s it. It’s back to work.”
The Bonnies will look to build on Sunday’s result when visiting George Mason on Thursday.
“We’re thinking about George Mason, and we’re thinking [about] whatever we got to do,” said Brdarski. “We need to stay strong. We need to stay healthy. We need to keep creating our own luck. And, for lack of a better way of thinking about it, just as we were down against Fordham, we have to think that we’re down in these upcoming games.”
walkerjc20@bonaventure.edu
