Elon Women’s Soccer Suffers Heartbreaking 1-0 Loss to UNCG

ELON, N.C. – Although Elon dominated most of the possession and created a ton of chances, Melanie Spensiero’s goal in the 49th minute proved to be the difference as the Elon University women’s soccer team fell to UNCG 1-0 on Friday night, Aug. 26, at Rudd Field.

BOX SCORE

With the loss, Elon falls to 1-2-0 overall and the UNCG Spartans improve their unbeaten start to 2-0-1 overall. Taylor Mohr made some fantastic saves in the second half to keep the Phoenix within a goal and Elon created a flurry of chances, but UNCG was able to hold on to the victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
The Phoenix outshot the Spartans in the first half 7-5 and created many dangerous situations in the first 45 minutes. Five minutes into the match, Susannah Anderson had a great chance on a fantastic ball played to her, but the forward’s header missed to the right of the goal.

Tori Baliatico received a pass from Sydney Schilling less than four minutes later but her attempt sailed over the crossbar. In the 22nd minute, Elon won a corner kick and headers by Kendall Ballotti and Anderson were blocked and saved respectively.

Sarah Henson had Elon’s best opportunity to end the half, but her header off a cross, missed to the right. Although the Phoenix created chances, the score remained deadlocked at 0-0 at the break.

In the second half, UNCG was the first to strike in the 49th minute. Melanie Spensiero finished a cross from Diarra Simmons to she tapped into the left corner of the net. UNCG created some more chances over the next 15 minutes, including a shot from Caylin Prillaman that hit the crossbar in the 66th minute.

Taylor Mohr made the first of her four saves in the 67th minute, tipping a shot from Dena Cisic over the goal. Mohr also made big saves in the 76th and the 84th minute to keep the Phoenix within a goal.

Elon’s final opportunity in the 89th minute from Ballotti was saved by UNCG goalkeeper Chloe Buehler and the Spartans held on to the 1-0 victory. Although UNCG has the edge in the shot count 13-11, Elon dominated most of possession throughout the match.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix begins its four-match road swing on Sunday when they face No. 8 Clemson at 2 p.m. at Historic Riggs Field. You can watch the match live on ACC Network Extra on the WatchESPN app.

2 thoughts on “Elon Women’s Soccer Suffers Heartbreaking 1-0 Loss to UNCG

  1. I’m not sure who wrote this article but….Sorry I was at this game and Elon never “dominated” possession. In fact they were outshot. If not for two terrific saves by the keeper and a ball banging off the crossbar this could have easily been 4-0 UNCG. UNCG’s keeper never had to make a tough save all night.
    *disclaimer* I have no ties to nor preference for either team. Simply a fan of soccer and live in the area.

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