The Medgar Evers College Cougars suffered a CUNYAC setback Tuesday afternoon, falling to the Lehman College Lightning at South Field in the Bronx.
Lehman came out aggressively and quickly established control of the match, scoring just 1:47 into the contest when Jensy Peri converted a feed from Emily Huerta. The Lightning added another goal less than four minutes later, with Charlize Valentin finding the back of the net off another assist from Huerta to give the hosts an early advantage.
The Lightning continued to pressure the Cougars throughout the opening half. Peri scored her second goal of the afternoon in the 13th minute, assisted by Amy Quintuna, before Huerta added a goal of her own in the 22nd minute off a Peri assist. Karen Marin and Vivian Villeda then scored late in the opening half, sending Lehman into halftime with a six-goal advantage.
Despite the difficult first half, Medgar Evers continued to compete and generated opportunities after the intermission. Danajah Lawrence recorded three shots on the afternoon, with all three finding the target. She forced Lehman goalkeeper Leonor Ramirez-Vasquez to make a save in the closing minutes of the first half before testing Katelyn Rice twice during the second half.
Lehman added two more goals in the second half. Valentin scored her second goal of the match in the 53rd minute, while Huerta completed her scoring performance in the 75th minute to account for the final margin.
Shanya Aitcheson was busy in goal for the Cougars, finishing with 17 saves on 25 Lehman shots on target. Medgar Evers was limited to three total shots, all of which came from Lawrence. The Cougars also earned two corner kicks, while Lehman recorded 10.
The Cougars will look to bounce back Thursday afternoon, October 8, when they travel to SUNY Old Westbury to battle the Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
