ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The St. Bonaventure women's soccer team dropped a 5-1 final to Duquesne Thursday evening at the Marra Athletics Complex, struggling to keep up with the visitors' pace in chilly conditions.
 
The Bonnies (3-12-2, 0-9 A-10) scored their first and only goal of the game in the 15^th minute as graduate student Daniela De Souza found sophomore Ekemini Udofa on a breakaway downfield. Udofa's score tied the match at one as the Dukes (11-5-1, 6-3 A-10) had already gotten on the board in just the fourth minute, though from that point on the visitors stormed away with momentum.
 
As Bona struggled to keep possession, Duquesne was largely able to search for open looks, capitalizing on back-to-back opportunities in the 25^th and 26^th minutes. Maya Matesa and Mackenzie Muir each notched goals, both assisted by Kayla Leseck.
 
A lull in scoring followed the halftime break, but the Dukes were not done applying offensive pressure just yet. In the 81^st minute, a deflected pass was intercepted by Anna Bundy, who collected herself and sent an accurate shot, finding the target and making the score 4-1. Just one minute later, a Duquesne corner kick was redirected off a Bonaventure defender's foot and in for an own goal.
 
The visitors were then happy to let the final minutes of the match tick away, holding possession and thwarting the Bonnies' attempts at drawing any closer.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Adelaide Paredes began the game in net and made two saves. She was replaced at halftime by senior Jael Schubert, who made three saves of her own.
 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH MELISSA SHERWOOD
"I think we showed our resilience. The opponent scored first, but we didn't give up. We kept going and kept trying to play our game, trying to be positive. I think that's a credit to the team, because regardless of what the score is, they don't let their heads go down. All season long, they haven't done that. They've stuck to the task and stuck together, most importantly. In this day and age people get shielded from it sometimes, but at times your best is not good enough, and that's life. But these players have given everything in effort, and sometimes it's not good enough, but you can't ask for any more."
 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies will go on the road this coming Sunday to close out the season at Richmond. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m.

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