TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University women's soccer team put together a strong second half to try to come back against one of the top teams in the Atlantic-10 Conference but came up short in a 2-1 defeat at Tiger Field.
 
Down 2-nil at the break, Towson (0-1-2) had strong chances in the second half, including five shots on goal, four corners and the first collegiate goal for Khori Banks, but could not bridge the final gap and fell to George Washington (3-1).
 
Key Stats:

• Towson outshot GW in the game 20-11, including 10 on goal.  The Tigers also had six corner kicks to GW's two.
• Khori Banks notched her first collegiate goal in the 77^th minute with a turnaround shot in the box.  Phoebe Canoles had four shots to lead Towson while Nia Christopher, Demi Pierre and Alexandra Rush all had three.
• The loss in goal went to Riley Melendez, who had three saves and two goals allowed in the game.
• For GW, Natalie Silberman and Tori Minda each had first half goals in the third and 30^th minute respectively.  Goalkeeper Tamaki Machi had the win, saving nine shots and allowing one goal.

Postgame Quote:
--Towson head coach Katherine Vettori: "I'm thrilled for Khori for her first collegiate goal.  We learned a lot today: we cannot start that slow and make early mistakes.  I'm very proud today that we showed resiliency and fought back, giving it everything we had until the end.  If we take these lessons and learn from them, we'll be better prepared for conference play."
 
How It Happened:

• An errant pass in the third minute was intercepted by Natalie Silberman in the box.  One-on-one with the keeper, Silberman scored short range inside the right post to make it 1-0.
• Towson got a long range shot in the fifth minute from Phoebe Canoles, with GW making the save.  The teams went back and forth in the midfield for the next few minutes, with each side having a shot blocked.
• GW got a chance on goal in the 25^th minute as Maria Pareja got the chance off the pass, being saved by Riley Melendez.  A few minutes later, Tori Minda took a long range shot and scored inside the left post for a 2-0 GW lead.
• Minutes after holding off a couple of GW corner kicks, Towson got a barrage of shots to pressure GW's keeper.  Alexandra Rush twice nearly scored, including a cross to the center of the box off the first touch being saved and knocked out-of-bounds by the keeper.  Demi Pierre had two shots blocked before the end of the half as Towson trailed 2-0 at the break.
• Early second half free kicks from Towson were saved by Tamaki Machi.
• In minute 70, Nia Christopher got free in the box and took aim towards goal, with Machi knocking the ball out of bounds.  An ensuing corner did not result in a shot.
• Off a counter in the 76^th minute, Khori Banks got in the box.  Making moves with three defenders around her, she turned and kicked the ball inside the right post for the goal, bringing Towson within one at 2-1.
• Towson did not let up as Rush got a corner less than a minute later.  As GW sent it away, Danielle Maggio sent a long range towards goal under the crossbar as Machi knocked it away.  Another chance by Christopher was saved close range as Towson continued to pepper the goal.
• Towson continued to attack, but GW had more possession in the closing minutes and ran out the clock, winning 2-1.

Inside the Numbers:

• With lights added to the facility, this was the first night game for Towson women's soccer at Tiger Field.
• Each of Towson's goals this season have been scored by freshmen, with Alexandra Rush scoring at Saint Joseph's on March 5.

Next Game:
Towson takes on James Madison on Sunday, March 14 at 3 p.m.  This is a non-conference game with the CAA teams split into north and south divisions.
 
- TowsonTigers.com –