West Point, N.Y. — On an overcast and wet day at Malek Stadium, Army separated themselves in the second half to defeat Manhattan 3-0. The Jaspers hung tough for a while, and had the best chance of the first half when Amaya Hill's blast in the 14th minute hit the crossbar.
Army powered themselves to victory on the strength of the 3 second-half goals. First, it was Bella Cooke who broke through on a header off a free kick from Keira Vesy. Army doubled down on their advantage in the 74th minute when Elizabeth Oberhaus was taken down in the box and Kaelan Bradley then did the honors from the penalty spot. In the 82nd minute, the Cadets would cap off the scoring on a goal from Sabrina Rogers when the ball was played into her off of a corner from Jordan Follenweider.
"She's (Brunk) a great voice back there and she definitely helps me out speaking to the back line and everyone in front of us," said senior central defender Maddie Feller. "I have full confidence in her."
Army out shot Manhattan 24-5 with an 8-3 advantage for shots on goal. Senior forward Corrine Jackson made her first start of the season for Manhattan.
Hill's Homecoming
Army was able to spoil the homecoming of redshirt sophomore forward Amaya Hill, who left the action in the 61st minute after taking a spill near the sideline and then got up slowly. Hill came close to changing the trajectory of the game when her shot in the 14th minute was tipped by Army goalkeeper Sage Strohman and hit off the crossbar. Hill got a second-chance but that shot was handled easily by Strohman.
Hill's father, Colonel Aaron Hill, is a West Point graduate who served 27 years of active duty in Bosnia, Croatia, Afghanistan, and the Sinai Peninsula. The Hill family lives on the West Point campus and Colonel Hill serves as the Deputy Department Head in the Department of Civil & Mechanical Engineering (CME) at Army.
Coach's Angle
"We got off to a really good start," said head coach Brendan Lawler. "I think we were the aggressor."
"We still fought and battled hard. We were right there with a team that has won this league the past two years and unfortunately in the second half things got away a little bit. We're proud of our effort against a very good team."
"We set up a difficult schedule, starting with an A-10 team in Fordham and then the reigning champions in the Patriot League (Army) so that when we get to conference play we're ready to go."
Lawler's Return
Lawler was an assistant at Army from 2006-2009 and still lives locally. He left to become the Manhattan head coach ahead of the 2010 season.
"The people here are great, it's a first class institution, and we were happy to be part of it."
Next Time Out
Manhattan (0-2) will return to action on Thursday, Aug. 22 when the Jaspers pay a visit to Long Island University (0-1). Kick-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. at LIU Soccer Park.
Jaspers Sports Network heard from Coach Lawler and senior defender Maddie Feller following a 3-0 loss at Army on Sunday afternoon.
— Manhattan W. Soccer (@JaspersWSOC) August 19, 2024
Proud of our fight and ready to get back to work ??#AllTogetherNow ???? pic.twitter.com/J9pzFbFAmo