Early Drew Goals in Each Half Send Gophers to Loss

TOWSON, Md. — Goucher surrendered a goal within the first five minutes of each half against Drew this afternoon. Despite the home team ending the contest with an 11-6 edge in shots, those early goals would ultimately make the difference in a 2-1 defeat to the Rangers at Beldon Field.

Emma Campbell and Mel Santos scored for Drew (5-8, 2-2 Landmark), which moved into a tie for fourth place in the conference standings after the victory. Gaby Davis (New York, N.Y./LaGuardia) broke the shutout for the Gophers (3-10-1, 0-4 Landmark) with a strike in the last minute of the second half.

The Rangers got on the board on their first scoring chance, with Campbell netting her team-leading seventh tally of the season 4:56 into the opening half. Her shot from the top of the box was partially pushed away by goalkeeper Lexi Rudolph (Kensington, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), but the ball bounced off the right post and snuck across the line.

Goucher's fourth shot of the half nearly leveled up the score in the 45th minute. Emily Harris (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) directed a pass to Brooke Merchant (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas S. Wootton), who fired a low shot towards goal that just missed sneaking into the left corner.

That effort gave the Gophers a 4-3 shots advantage for the opening 45 minutes, but Drew struck early once again after the break. Campbell crossed a pass in from the right side straight to the feet of Santos, who blasted a shot into the upper left corner less than two minutes into the second half.

Merchant had another quality chance in the 53rd minute, but her header which seemed destined for the left corner was stopped by a diving Sara Nash.

Goucher's goal came with 24 seconds left on the clock. Lindsey Puopolo (Glen Arm, Md./St. Timothy's) sent the ball in from midfield, and it was then directed by Brianna Hite (Port Republic, Md./Calvert) straight towards the line where Davis was waiting for an easy tap in. The goal was Davis' second of the season, while Puopolo and Hite each now have a team-high three assists.

The Gophers remain at home Wednesday night when they welcome conference-leading Catholic to Beldon Field for a 7 p.m. matchup.