Gophers Bow to Regionally Ranked Knights, 1-0

TOWSON, Md. — The starting goalkeepers for Goucher and Arcadia weren't tested often, but each one made every save that was required to keep tonight's game between the Gophers and Knights on Beldon Field scoreless well into the second half.

But in the 63rd minute, the visitors caught a break in the form of a foul against Goucher just outside the box. On the restart, Arcadia's Kim Canfield lofted the ball in front of the goal where teammate Alex Stoner was stationed. Stoner, in turn, headed it into the lower right corner to put her team ahead.

When head coach Tati Korba's Gophers didn't answer with a goal of their own in the time that remained, the Knights were able to celebrate a 1-0 victory.

The game remained scoreless as long as it did because of the performance of the two keepers and the defensive players in front of them. For Goucher, Lexi Rudolph (Kensington, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) made five saves in the first half and one more following the break when she made a play on a shot by Nina Barbieri in the 73rd minute.

Natalie Toner manned the net for Arcadia for all 90 minutes. After stopping three shots by three different Goucher players in the first half, she preserved her team's one-goal advantage on two different occasions in the latter stages of the contest by making saves on a pair of well-struck shots by Lindsey Puopolo (Glen Arm, Md./St. Timothy's).

For the game, the Knights (9-3), who are only 10 days removed from a 1-0 victory over Misericorida, which at the time was No. 9 in the NSCAA's Division III national rankings, outshot the Gophers, 14-7.

"I'm proud of the game we played tonight against a team that was ranked seventh in our region," said Korba. "We always want to get the result, but we played well, and we've hung tight through some adversity this season and we are stronger for it. Now we can shift our focus to five consecutive (Landmark) conference games where we must get results."

The string of five straight Landmark contests for the Gophers (3-8-1) starts Saturday when they visit Scranton for a 1 p.m. start.