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Women's Soccer

WOMEN'S SOCCER DRAWS IN SEASON OPENER AT VILLANOVA, 1-1

BOX SCORE


VILLANOVA, Pa. – Senior Sahar Aflaki tallied the first goal of the season and senior keeper Che' Brown made five saves as Radford women's soccer opened its season with a 1-1 draw at Big East foe Villanova on Friday at the West Campus Complex.

"We are happy with the point on the road," commented head coach Ben Sohrabi. "We scored a great combination goal early and that was nice."
 
Aflaki netted the first goal of the season and gave the Highlanders (0-0-1) a 1-0 lead 14:01 into the contest. She took a nice feed in the box from classmate Julie Ruh'e and poked the ball far post past the on rushing keeper. It was the striker's 18th career goal and the 15th collegiate helper for Ruh'e.
 
Villanova started to put the pressure on toward the last five minutes of the first half and it continued at the start of the second stanza. The Wildcats (0-0-1) earned an early corner kick and it paid off when Rhea Barghash's in-swinger found the back of the net for the equalizer.

"Villanova is a very good team, but we showed a lot of heart late. We need to work on some things, but I was happy with the overall effort."
 
The Highlanders and Wildcats both had opportunities to get the second goal in regulation, which included a Nova strike that was tipped off the crossbar by Brown in the 70th minute.
 
The Wildcats nearly won it in the 96th minute, but a blast from Barghash on a corner kick was cleared off the line by the far post defender Stephanie Herb. Just as time was winding down in the first overtime, Ruh'e sent a header just over the crossbar on a corner kick.
 
Despite being outshot in the contest, Radford's defense, which is what the team takes pride in, held up in the final third and denied several chances in the 18. They kept their composure making several strong tackles and timely clearances throughout the match.
 
Brown recorded two of her saves in the first half, which included an all-out effort on the first Villanova shot of the contest. Ruh'e and Aflaki each registered two shots for the Highlanders. Katie Martin led the Wildcats with a game-best four shots.
 
Radford returns to action on next Friday, Aug. 30 when it hosts Towson in its home opener. Kickoff from Cupp Stadium is set for 7:00 p.m.

  

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