Highlands Nip Bison 2-1
RADFORD, VA. - Radford held off Howard, 2-1 in the season opener for the Highlanders Friday evening at Cupp Stadium.
The Bison (0-2-0) cut Radford's
lead in half in the 63rd minute on Cynthia Snyder's individual effort. Snyder took
a ball on the far side of the box, dribbled past a RU defender and
past goalkeeper Lisa Lubke, before sending a soft shot inside
the opposite post for the marker.
While the Bison fell short, Highlander coach Ben Sohrabi said the
defending Big South champions got all they could handle from a team
the Highlanders beat 4-0 in their 2008 season opener.
"I think Howard played extremely well," said Sohrabi. "I give
them a lot of credit, and they were very effective from a tactical
standpoint."
The first half included a pair of
scoring chances for both teams. In the 17th minute, Jordan
Brown was forced to the near side goalline on a breakaway
opportunity, and Heins came from 10 yards away to force a tight,
bad-angle shot attempt.
Three minutes later, Cheyra
Bell was taken down on the far side of box for a penalty kick
and another chance to give the Bison the early lead, but her
attempt rang the far post.
Howard is back in action on Sunday in a matchup against George Mason in Fairfax, Va.