Miami Falls at Home
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A couple quick goals made the difference Thursday night at Cobb Stadium, as the University of Miami soccer team dropped a 3-0 contest with Louisville.
“Obviously, the result is not what we were looking for, but there is a lot we can take away from tonight’s game and learn from,” head coach Sarah Barnes said. “This fall is about getting better, getting players experience and making sure that we are ready to go in the spring season and for next season’s fall. So, we are going to have a relentless focus on how do we improve from game, to game, to game.”
Just under seven minutes into the match, the Cardinals got on the board when Emina Ekic sent a through ball to Delaney Snyder for the first goal of the contest.
Eight minutes later, Louisville doubled its lead when Ekic made a move to get open in the box and sneak a ball into the far left corner.
Ekic tallied her second goal of the match, this time receiving a pass from Snyder, as the Cardinals took a commanding 3-0 advantage with 71 minutes to play.
Coming off the bench for the Hurricanes, freshman midfielder Katarina Molina registered Miami’s first shot of the match, set up by a beautiful run and cross down the far right sideline by senior defender Morgan Asmussen. However, the shot barely arched over the cross bar.
Three minutes later, junior goalkeeper Tyler Speaks corralled her first save of the game off a shot by Snyder.
Out of the break, both teams looked to gain possession of the ball, with Miami’s first shot of the half coming in the 79th minute off the foot of Sierra Frey. The junior defender’s attempt was blocked by a Louisville defender before sophomore forward Taylor Shell got a head on the rebound, but her shot was saved by Gabrielle Kouzelos.
Miami’s best chance of the night came in the 88th minute when Michaela Baker blasted a header toward the top right corner, but the freshman forward’s attempt just missed wide of the net.
Miami returns to Cobb Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m. against Notre Dame. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on WVUM 90.5 FM.
