TOWSON, Md. - Junior goalkeeper Erin Quinn made nine saves but Towson fell, 1-0, to Delaware in both teams' Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season opener Thursday afternoon at Tiger Soccer Complex.

The Tigers (5-5-1) weren't able to connect passes and maintain possession, and consistent Delaware (6-4) pressure made every ball a battle. Despite Quinn's performance in net for Towson, the Blue Hens scored in the ninth minute and held on for the win.

"We did some things well, and we learned some things," said Head Coach Greg Paynter. "[Erin] Quinn was fantastic. She made some unbelievable saves in there and kept us in that game and we weren't able to take advantage of that by putting the ball in the back of the net."

The Blue Hens scored early. Shannon Kearney passed back to Andrea Arnold whose hard shot slapped off Quinn's hands, over her head and into the goal.

The second half played out in a similar fashion, a back-and-forth affair with both teams struggling to connect passes. When Delaware mounted an attack, the Hens weren't able to finish. The Tigers fought off several UD near-misses, in part due to three outstanding saves from Quinn.

Junior co-captain Sofia Read had a good chance to level the match at 1-1 at 55:44, but her shot skirted the mouth of the goal and was pushed aside by UD keeper Jessica Levy.

The Tigers return to action on Sunday, Sept. 29 when they host Drexel at 1 p.m. at the Tiger Soccer Complex.

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