RICHMOND, Va. - Junior
Mia De Villegas-Decker made the most of her first career start, scoring her first career goal as American University women's soccer earned a 1-1 draw at Richmond on Thursday afternoon. Freshman goalkeeper
Riley Molbury made five saves to keep the match level the rest of the way for the Eagles, who will make their home debut on Sunday, Aug. 23 against Longwood.
Notable
- De Villegas-Decker appeared in just her sixth career match after battling injuries, and made the most of her first starting nod with a goal in the eighth minute.
- Assists on AU's goal came from senior Bella Miller and junior Nariah Goldman as the Eagles posted their first two helpers of the season on their first run-of-play goal.
- Molbury is averaging six saves per game through her first three career starts, and has played every minute in goal for American.
- Corners were 8-2 in favor of Richmond, with AU's defense coming up strong to thwart a number of chances for the Spiders. Total shots favored UR 16-9, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
How it Happened
- Early in the eighth minute, Goldman sent the ball into Miller who got it past one defender and into the left side of the box where De Villegas-Decker beat out another defender and crossed it into the lower right corner.
- The Eagles' 1-0 lead was short-lived, with Richmond answering a minute and a half later when Emma Newman got her left foot on a loose ball and snuck it into the bottom left of the cage.
- Both teams had strong chances later in the half. UR nearly scored in the 23rd minute but the ball went just wide to the left.
- In the 34th minute, American had back-to-back chances with a shot by senior Lauren Sanders that was saved by Veronica Rrapi before De Villegas-Decker collected the rebound but her shot was stopped by Rrapi as well.
- Goldman headed the ball towards goal in the 71st minute but missed high.
- Molbury made her final save in the 88th minute, one of two in the second half that kept UR off the board.
- Sanders nearly matched her heroics from two seasons ago when she scored the 89th-minute game-winner at Richmond, but her 89th-minute shot this time was off target.
Up Next
- The Eagles will return home for their Reeves Field debut this season on Sunday, Aug. 23 against Longwood at 1 p.m.
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