Box Score GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College women's soccer team went toe to toe with the best Division III had to offer, yielding just seven shots in a 1-0 loss to top-ranked and defending national champion William Smith College in the Bullets' season opener at the Gettysburg Cup Friday evening at Clark Field.
The Orange and Blue played the Herons even before Lauren Randaccio broke through with a header in the 52nd minute, sending William Smith to its 24th consecutive win. The Herons won their final 23 matches last season en route to its Division III crown.
Gettysburg, playing a No. 1-ranked team for the first time in five years, had one of its best scoring looks early in the match, when it received a corner in the sixth minute. Sophomore
Julia Ramsey (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) made a strong serve into the box, where senior
Molly Phillips (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) connected on a header that sailed just high of the net.
The Herons threatened in the 23rd minute, firing off a pair of shots in succession. But junior goalie
Eliza Gray (South Orange, N.J./Columbia) kept the Bullets even when made a terrific stop, reaching back across her body to swat away a rip from the left wing.
Each side managed just one shot for the remainder of the half and the scoreboard read 0-0 at the intermission.
The Bullets took the first two shots of the second half before Randaccio's game winner. With the Herons in transitions, Brenna Kincaid brought the ball down the right flank and sent a cross into the box, where Randaccio nearly collided with an oncoming Gray. But she headed the ball just enough for it to trickle into the back of the net just before a Gettysburg defender could track it down.
William Smith outshot the Bullets 3-1 the rest of the way, with Gray keeping it a one-goal game with another save in the 81st minute.
In the first match of the day, Carnegie Mellon University rolled past Gustavus Adophus College 8-0.
The Gettysburg Cup concludes on Saturday, with the Bullets opening with Gustavus Adolphus at 4 p.m. Carnegie Mellon and William Smith will face off at 7 p.m.
