BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Seton Hall women’s soccer team suffered its first defeat of the 2013 season on Monday night, dropping a 1-0 decision to reigning Northeast Conference champions LIU-Brooklyn at LIU Field.

For the second-straight match, the Pirates (0-1-1) held a double-digit advantage in shot attempts but the looks at net did not translate into goals for SHU. The Hall got off nine shots in each half against the Blackbirds, finishing with an 18-8 edge for the night. Seton Hall previously posted 24 shots against on 12 for Stony Brook in the season opener; a game that ended in a 2-2 draw.

The blue & white clad Pirates got off to a fast start, firing three shots in the first eight minutes, but only one forced a save from LIU-Brooklyn keeper Jessica Sexton.

In the 23^rd minute, senior Ashley Clarke (Paramus, N.J.) produced an effort that forced another stop from Sexton and resulted in an SHU corner, the fourth for the Pirates to that point in the proceedings. Seton Hall limited the hosts to only one attempt on goal the rest of the half and got another chance to jump ahead just before half as Sexton was called into action again by a shot from freshman Sarah Cortes (Paramus, N.J.), but the Blackbirds’ senior keeper was up to the task once again and the teams headed into the break in a scoreless stalemate.

Senior Marie Klemme (Berlin, Germany) got the first look at goal for either team after a defensive start to the final 45 but her 58^th minute effort sailed wide. SHU captain Jennifer Pettigrew (Kearny, N.J.) made her second save of the night just over a minute later but soon after another corner kick that saw the Pirates come up empty handed, LIU-Brooklyn would start the sequence that led to the only score of the game off a set piece of their own.

The play started as the Blackbirds sent a free kick from the midfield line into a crowded right side of the Seton Hall area. Several clearance attempts were thwarted, and after her initial effort was blocked, LIU-Brooklyn’s Sydney Ciufo needed just one touch to send another shot screaming towards net, beating Pettigrew far post from 20 yards out with just under 27 minutes remaining.

The Pirates created a number of opportunities to equalize, doubling up the Blackbirds 6-3 in shots and earning three more corners after falling behind. Perhaps the best chance came in the 89^th minute when senior Meghan Hayes (Fredon, N.J.) provided a tough test with a well-placed shot but Sexton again had the answer, going full stretch to push it over the bar.

It was one of three saves that she made in the final five minutes as the Pirates pushed to draw level.

The night ended with SHU also enjoying an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks over LIU-Brooklyn (1-1-0) but Sexton’s eight saves proved to be the difference. The teams have now split a pair of meetings over the last two years after the Pirates blanked the Blackbirds 2-0 in the 2012 opener for both squads.

Pettigrew made three stops for The Hall and Cortes finished with a team-high four shots.

The Pirates return home this Friday, August 30 when they host Army at 3:00 p.m. The game is the first of two that will be played at Owen T. Carroll Field on the day as the Seton Hall men’s soccer team will open its 2013 campaign against Drexel at 7:00 p.m.   

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