UTICA, NY – The Alfred University women's soccer team came up short in a 4-3 overtime loss to Utica College on Saturday afternoon from Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.

The Saxons (6-3-2, 1-1-0 Empire 8) finished with 10 shots, seven of which were on goal. AU also forced five corner kick opportunities.

Forward Kayla Silverstein (North Chili, NY/Churchville-Chili) finished with one goal to go with an assist. Forward Abigail Austin (Hornell, NY/Hornell) and midfielder Claire Squicciarini (Albion, NY/Charles D'Amico) each scored a goal across on one shot on goal. Goalkeeper Hannah Fuller (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) compiled four saves.

"Today's result was disappointing," Head Coach Craig Yanni said. "I thought we came out a bit flat and it really hurt us in the long run. We did a good job battling back the two times we went down."

The Saxons wasted no time setting an aggressive pace on offense in the opening half, as a pass from forward Karah Landries (Angelica, NY/Genesee Valley Central) to Silverstein gave AU the early lead at the 5:39 mark. Utica answered with a goal of their own roughly 10 minutes later to tie the match. The Pioneers took a brief lead with a second goal, but the Saxons retaliated 30 seconds later when Austin found the back of the net. Utica continued to place pressure on Alfred University, as they scored again to take a 3-2 lead. The Saxons offense found another opporunity to get on the scoreboard, as a pass from Silverstein to Squicciarini tied the match before halftime.

In the second half, the Saxons defense limited Utica to only two corner kicks and two shots. Despite forcing three shots of their own, AU couldn't take the late lead, as the match went into overtime. Utica found an opening in the early moments of overtime to secure the win. 

"The key message moving into next week is putting in maximum effort in practice and doing the simple things on a consistent basis" Yanni said.

The Saxons will return home on Tuesday to host Ithaca College at 7:00 PM.