Junior Carleigh Morba and sophomore Shaena Alfonsi each recorded goals as the American University women's soccer team earned a 2-1 victory over Maryland-Baltimore County Friday afternoon in the season opener.

American (1-0) picked up its first goal in the 34th minute of play when freshman Nicole Paviglionite fed a long pass down the right side of the field to a streaking Lindsay Muri. The freshman controlled the ball and crossed it to Morba, who was able to stick out her left foot and slide a shot past UMBC goalkeeper Lauren Kadet.

The Eagles tallied their second goal in the 79th minute when junior Jasmine Mohandesi crossed a pass from the left side to the head of Alfonsi, who was moving toward the front of the goal. Alfonsi was able to angle her shot past Kadet and American had its crucial insurance goal.

Despite facing the two-goal deficit, UMBC (0-1) earned fought back with a score in the 82nd minute to cut American's lead in half. UMBC's Amy Savage found Rachel McKee, and her high shot from a tough angle on the right side got past AU goalkeeper Klare Lazor. The Retrievers, however, were unable to muster other chances late in the match and the Eagles held on for the 2-1 victory.

$website.include("/video/Womens_Soccer/2011-12/Postgame_Highlights/20110819_WSOC_UMBC_Highlights.flv")

American controlled play for much of the 90 minutes, registering numerous scoring opportunities in the attacking third and outshooting UMBC by a 24-4 margin in the match. This included an 11-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 6-1 margin in corner kicks.

"We're excited to get this win," commented Head Coach Dave Bucciero. "You have to be happy with getting that many shots. I thought we had a lot of opportunities to get more besides the two that we scored, but I'm happy with how we played. A lot of our players played really well today."

Freshmen Michaela Cowgill, along with Morba and Paviglionite, led American with three shots apiece, while six other Eagles tallied two shots each. Meanwhile, the junior Lazor played all 90 minutes in goal for AU, earning her first career victory.

The triumph for the Eagles marks the first victorious season opener since the 2007 season when they defeated Manhattan, 4-1. American went onto a 10-6-3 record that campaign, including a 4-0-3 mark in Patriot League play.

The Eagles will make a quick turnaround as they will be back in action this Sunday, August 21 at Georgetown. The Hoyas are ranked 15th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com preseason poll and No. 23 in the NSCAA national poll. Match time from North Kehoe Field is set for 1 p.m.