Lakers' Rally Falls Just Short Against V-Hawks

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – A late flurry of action was not enough for shorthanded Roosevelt to rally against Viterbo in a 2-1 defeat Tuesday night in a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Morris Field.

The Lakers (4-9-0, 2-7-0) fell behind 2-0 early in the second half, but Mayte Gongora gave the Lakers some hope with a 40-plus yard strike that sailed over the V-Hawks' goalies head. The junior won a loose ball off a throw in and sent her long-range effort toward the goal, and it had just enough power to fool the Viterbo keeper into thinking it would go over the bar. Instead, the shot snuck under the crossbar to cut the deficit in half with just less than 30 minutes to go in the match.

Roosevelt's comeback efforts might have been dented when Kyra Cruickshank was sent off with her second yellow card after a collision with the Viterbo keeper. However, even down a player, the Lakers continued to increase the pressure in search of the tying goal. The Lakers had just four shot attempts in the first half and none of them were on frame, but they had eight shots in the second half, five of which actually were on target.

In the 80^th minute, the Lakers had their best chance to tie the match when Nyah Bejarano was dragged down 25 yards from the goal. Bejarano took the ensuing free kick and sent a well-struck ball into the area where the V-Hawks goalie made a save. She made a follow-up save on the rebound and the Lakers couldn't find the loose ball for a third crack at the net as Viterbo was able to clear for a Roosevelt throw-in.

Gongora had Roosevelt's final chance in the dying seconds with a free kick as the clock was about to strike zero. After Viterbo was whistled for the foul, Gongora hustled with less than 10 seconds left to get the ball ready for play, and she sent a dangerous kick toward the goal that the V-Hawks goalie pushed away with a second on the clock.

Gaby Aguinaga-Hernandez made four saves in her third start of the season, and also came up with some key clearances from her area. The Chicago native made one stop in the first half as the Lakers nearly escaped to halftime with a scoreless game. Aguinaga-Hernandez then shook off the second goal to make a pair of stops in the second half to keep the deficit at one in the late stages.

Roosevelt closes out its home slate Saturday afternoon with a Senior Day matchup against Governors State at Morris Field. The game kicks off at noon in Arlington Heights with Senior Day scheduled to begin around 11:45 a.m.