Via John Freeman
John Freeman, Editor
La Salle Women's Soccer began their second week of A-10 competition by defeating the Richmond Spiders 3-0 at McCarthy Stadium on ESPN Plus. The Explorers were able to overcome the disadvantages of playing on a wet pitch and endured in heavy rain by scoring both in-play and from a set piece. Forwards Sunni DiElmo, Courtney Butlion, and Justin Hollenbach added to their scoring tallies for the season.Both teams were aggressive from the kickoff. Head Coach Paul Royal had the Explorers line-up in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation which sporadically changed as the match progressed.
The Explorer's gave chase to Richmond's backline early-on, as the Spiders maintained most of possession for the first five minutes. The Explorers would soon become more dominant in possession near the 6th minute but only for split seconds. Much of the first 25 minutes was a tug-of-war for possession. Both teams struggled to create chances up until this point, but each side became more creative as the game approached the 30th minute. Through balls played by each side's back four and midfielders were futile due to the ball skidding from the rain; until Junior Sunni DiElmo fired a left-footed shot into the right side from the left flank after receiving a well-guided pass by Junior Forward Courtney Butlion in the 39th minute. DiElmo's goal would not just open the scoring, but ignite a strong end to the first half for the Explorers as La Salle began to assert themselves more in midfield and find their forwards more in the final third. Royal would substitute Hollenbach and Butlion for rest to commence the second half where the battle for midfield would regress to a tug-of-war between the two sides up until Hollenbach would return in the 55th minute. Progressing from here, the Explorers would quickly find their rhythm and begin consistently beating the Spiders to 50-50 balls and recording more shots on goal. Riding on this momentum, Hollenbach would later dribble horizontally to beat three defenders in spectacular fashion and score her third goal of the season in the 67th minute. Hollenbach scored on a low right-footed shot just inside the 18-yard box that ended-up strolling into the far post after deflecting off of a Richmond defender. DiEmelo assisted Hollenbach with a short pass played across the inside of the key. The Explorers would lead Richmond 2-0 at this point.
Butlion would return as a substitute in the 70th minute, and almost immediately collected a yellow card for a rash tackle in the 72nd minute. Butlion earned the Explorers their sixth foul of the match and second yellow card as well. However, just four minutes later, the lone striker would courageously step up to take a penalty awarded to the Explorers after the main official credited Richmond Defender Gwen Howell for a foul committed in a crowded 18-yard box. Butlion confidently finished the ball in the roof of the right side of the net to tally her second goal of the season and help the Explorers secure a 3-0 victory. For the remaining minutes, Richmond gambled by attacking high but to no avail. The Spiders also earned some late set pieces in corner kicks and free kicks in the last 10 minutes but could not convert them into meaningful chances. This win marked back-to-back conference wins for the Explorers and what the team hopes to be a part of a three-game win streak; as they face the VCU Rams on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.. on ESPN Plus.
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