Box Score

The Yeshiva University Women's Soccer team traveled to York College on Sunday afternoon for both team's final contest of the 2015 season.  This game was a makeup from an earlier game that was rained out halfway through.  Both teams were hoping to end the season on a positive note as wins for both programs have been hard to come by this season.
 
The contest began with Yeshiva putting pressure on York in the first ten minutes, winning three corner kicks but not capitalizing on any of them.  York's defense held firm which allowed them to move up the field and test YU.  The first shot of the game came from York's Jennifer Duranzo in the 18^th minute but was saved by YU goalie Annie Jaffe.  In the 20^th minute Yeshiva's Natasha Bassalian stole the ball from a York defender to take on York goalkeeper Sarah Hilaire one-on-one.  Hilaire had good positioning coming out of her net but Bassalian faked left and went right to shoot on an empty net scoring the first goal of the game.  Yeshiva's second goal came a minute later and was scored by Merav Saden Barach who gained control of a loose ball and dribbled past two York defenders prior to finishing a one-on-one with Hilarie to make the score 2-0 Yeshiva. 
After allowing two quick goals York tightened up their defense and started to push forward.  York looked very threatening and was led by the speedy Kennisha Wills.  Wills had several chances and got behind Yeshiva's back line many times before being caught at the last second by a YU defender.  Finally in the 32^nd minute, Wills made the breakthrough.  York defender Andrea Castillo played a great through ball pass from the right side which beat all four YU defenders.  Wills ran on to the pass and went one-on-one with Jaffe finishing a great low shot to the left side making the score 2-1 leading into the second half.
York came out very strong to start the second half.  Wave after wave of attacks by the York forwards and midfield caught YU off guard.  In the 48^th minute a through ball was played to Kennisha Wills who got behind the YU defense and was driving fast to the goal.  Wills may have scored but was fouled in the box which resulted in a penalty kick for York.  Defender and York captain Shanique Hill stepped up to take the penalty kick.  Hill shot low and to Jaffe's right, but Jaffe stepped right and dove to make the save.  There was a rebound but Jaffe was able to cover it up to clear the pressure.  Although a missed penalty kick could change the momentum of the game, this one did not deter York at all.  York continued to put the pressure on Yeshiva and had one ball kicked off the line by a YU defender and several one-on-one shots just missing wide.  The game ended 2-1 with both teams playing hard to the very end. 

The win for Yeshiva was a great way to cap off the season especially for the seniors who put on the White and Blue for the last time in their careers.  The women's soccer program finished strong by winning their final three games of the year and setting a new program record for wins in a single season with four.  It was also Yeshiva's first season in the Skyline Conference where they finished with a 1-8 record coming in 9^th out of 11^th place.  Preseason polls had them coming in last place making this 9^th place finish for this program a great achievement.