BRIDGEPORT, Conn. Senior goalkeeper Rachel Edgin (Whiteboro, N.Y.) was strong in her AIC debut making six saves, but it was not enough as the American International College Yellow Jackets dropped a, 1-0, affair to the University of Bridgeport in non-conference action this evening from Knights field.
This marks the second straight season the Purple Knights have upended the Jackets in the opener after AIC had won the previous three meetings and four of the last five dating back to 2010.
After a stagnant first half saw just three total shots on goal, two by the hosts, the Purple Knights (1-0) came out of the locker room and nearly broke the scoreless deadlock as freshman Jess Laszlo (Stamford, Conn.) rang the post in the 49th minute and followed it with a blast on net that was swallowed up by Edgin just two minutes later.
Bridgeport continued to dominate possession and controlled the pace of play once again nearly tilting the score in their favor on a quick chip shot by sophomore Hailey Marquis (Middlebury, Conn.) in the 71st minute, however, Edgin denied the attempt and junior Amanda Moura's (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) rebound attempt sailed high keeping the score 0-0.
UB kept the pressure on though and eventually capitalized on a free kick from just outside the top of the box in the 77th minute. Laszlo started the ball toward the far post and bent it back just off the outstretched hand of Edgin, off the crossbar and in for the 1-0 lead in the 77th minute.
The Yellow Jackets (0-1) nearly found the equalizer in the 88th minute off a free kick by senior Romina Bell (Stockerau, Austria) got knocked down and right at the feet of freshman Federica Frew (Melbourne, Australia), but her bid to pick the corner sailed wide right and out of harm's way.
Edgin stopped six shots on the evening while her counterpart, Bridgeport freshman Jennifer Wendelius (Lidingo, Sweden) was only called upon to make one save as the Knights outshot the visitors 17-6 with a 7-1 clip on target.
AIC continues play in the Purple Knight Classic and returns to action as they battle LIU Post on Sunday at 3 p.m.
