In Battle of Top 10, Tartans Fall to Thomas More

(PITTSBURGH, Pa.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's soccer team met a fellow NSCAA Top 10 team on Saturday, September 3, when ninth-ranked Thomas More College visited Pittsburgh. The Saints upended the sixth-ranked Tartans by a 2-1 score to move to 2-0 on the season while the Tartans are now even at 1-1.

Thomas More got on the board first when Lauren Rose struck a perfect left-footed shot from the left corner of the 18-yard box to the far post over the stretched out arms of freshman goalkeeper Mia Keyser (Anchorage, Alaska/West Anchorage). Erika LaRosa was credited with the assist after finding Rose unmarked in the 18-yard box.

The Saints got off two more shots that were saved by Keyser before the Tartans fired a shot on frame. That shot came from the foot of junior Tori Iatarola (West Dundee, Ill./Loyola Academy) in the 32nd minute but it was stopped by Saint keeper Megan Barton.

The Tartans equalized in the 52nd minute when junior Katie Strycharz (Potomac Falls, Va./Dominion) served a ball to the near post that bounced in front of the keeper and a few players and spun up and over the keeper.

Four minutes later the Saints earned a free kick from 30 yards deep and center of the goal. LaRosa played the kick low around the wall and a deflection by a defender sent the ball away from Keyser diving to the corner for the save and the shot went in for the eventual game winner.

The Tartans will next play at Christopher Newport University on Friday, September 9 at 7:30 p.m.