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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Courtenay Kaplan
Radford Athletics Communications
0
Radford RAD (7-7, 5-3)
2
Winner Liberty LIBERTY (9-7, 5-2)
Radford RAD
(7-7, 5-3)
0
Final
2
Liberty LIBERTY
(9-7, 5-2)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Radford RAD 0 0 0
Liberty LIBERTY 1 1 2

Game Recap: Women's Soccer |

HIGHLANDERS FALL ON THE ROAD AT LIBERTY, 2-0



LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the first time this season, the Radford women's soccer team dropped a conference match in regulation time as Liberty found the net early in each half en route to a 2-0 victory.
 
The Highlanders dropped to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in the Big South, while Liberty moved to 9-7 overall and 5-2 in the league.
 
The Flames got on the board in the seventh minute – the first opening-half goal that Radford has allowed in five Big South road contests – and added their second in the 57th minute.
 
Defending conference champion Liberty quickly established control of play in the match and capitalized on a Highlander turnover for the first goal. Gabrielle Farrell, the Flames' leading scorer, got the ball off a steal in the middle of field, dribbled into the left side of the box and fired a low, angled shot by Courtenay Kaplan that caromed off the right post. Devon Jones was there to follow up and put the rebound into the empty net for her fourth tally of the season.
 
Shortly after, Kaplan made a pair of saves, including one in which she came out and was able to block away another Farrell shot, to keep it a one-goal deficit.
 
Radford then had an excellent opportunity to tie the game in the 29th minute on a rare indirect kick opportunity inside the penalty area. Jordan Lundin took the short feed from Hannah Duff off the restart and got her 15-yard shot past the Flames' wall toward the right post, but Liberty goalkeeper Holly Van Noord was able to dive and tip it wide.
 
The Highlanders nearly struck suddenly in the final seconds of the half on a rush up the field that led to two attempts inside the box by Abby Gardner. However, her header was knocked away by Van Noord and her follow shot went high.
 
Liberty regained control at the start of the second half and converted another transition play for the two-goal lead. Getting possession off of a header following a Kaplan goal kick, Isabella Habuda carred the ball upfield to the top of the box, before taking a low shot that appeared to deflect off a defender further toward the right corner and just past the diving Kaplan for her seventh goal of the season.
 
Radford tried to mount a late charge in the final 20 minutes as Gardner, Jessica Wollmann and Jasmine Casarez put shots on target, but Van Noord, the conference's career leader in shutouts, made the stops to preserve her fifth clean sheet of the year.
 
Seven of the Highlanders' eight attempts in the match were on goal, while Liberty recorded 20 shots with eight on frame. Kaplan totaled five saves, with Hannah Duff adding another stop, clearing a ball off the line in the second half.

"Liberty is an excellent team," Radford head coach Ben Sohrabi said. "We played decent today, but to win that game we had to have our best for 90 minutes. We had some definite quality play in sections, but not complete. Their keeper made a fantastic save at a pivotal point in the match that could've changed things."

Radford hosts High Point for Senior Night and its regular-season finale on Saturday at Cupp Stadium. A win would still give the Highlanders a chance to earn a home quarterfinal in the Big South Tournament. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
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