By Leighton Schneider

The Fordham women’s soccer team took on LIU-Brooklyn on Sunday afternoon and walked away with a 2-1 victory. Graduate student midfielder Jessica Widmann scored her fifth goal of the year and fifth-year senior forward Kristina Maksuti got her second straight game-winning goal.

Fordham controlled the pace for the majority of the game and put on an offensive clinic with 27 shots and 15 shots on goal during the game. One goal for the Rams in the first half was to high press LIU. The team ended up accomplishing this with 15 shots and six shots on goal in the first half. LIU-Brooklyn then changed their play in the second half and had seven shots, compared to zero in the first half.

“The first half was terrific,” said head coach Jessica Clinton. “We were moving the ball, we were pressing it greatly. LIU played faster in the second half. They went direct to playing long ball to catch us and it certainly worked. We were exposed a little bit.”

The Rams had the first chance of the game in the 16th minute off of a corner kick. Junior midfielder Brianna Blunck took the corner and placed the ball just outside of the six-yd box. Junior defender Nicole Bates found herself wide open and headed the ball off the crossbar. The ball fell to junior forward Nicol Natale who tried to head it into the goal, but the ball went past the left post.

Fordham opened the scoring in the 25th minute with Widmann’s goal. Freshman forward Lane Cronin crossed the ball from the right side of the field to the top of the 18-yd box, where Widmann scored off of the inside right post.

The team got another chance just a minute later. Graduate student forward Kate McDonnell found an open senior midfielder Ivana Lahcanski at the top of the 18-yd box. Lahcanski curled it towards the top left corner before LIU goalie Erin Harbison punched it over the goal.

LIU picked up their offense with six shots in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

The Blackbirds tied the game up in the 60th minute with a goal by freshman forward Marian Awad. Junior forward Tori Shinkowitz played a ball to the freshman and Fordham junior goalie Megan Fitzgerald tried to make a play on the ball, but lost the ball before Awad was able to shoot it in.
Fordham would not let that goal slow them down though.

Just over a minute later Natale moved the ball down the field and crossed the ball into the box to Maksuti. Maksuti was able to get a foot on the ball and fired it past the goalie.

With the goal, she became just the sixth Ram to ever score 20 career goals, and moved into sixth place on Fordham’s all-time scoring list with 49 points.

“I think it was a terrific response by the whole team to get in, and there was great composure by [Kristina],” said Clinton. “It was great to have that response so quickly and not let the minutes tick down and start to get or feel the pressure.”

Fitzgerald made five saves for her fourth win of the season.

Fordham improved to 5-2-0 on the season with its third straight win. The Rams play at Columbia next on Friday, Sept. 16.