Philadelphia, PA – The La Salle women's soccer team's second-half comeback attempt fell just short as the Explorers fell 3-2 to Rhode Island on a rainy Sunday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium.
La Salle dropped to 4-4-3 overall and 1-1-1 in the A10, while Rhode Island improved to 4-4-3 and 2-1 in the A10.Â
Freshman forward Shiloh Moore, the reigning Atlantic Rookie of the Week, scored in her fourth straight game for the Explorers and also picked up an assist on junior forward Alexis Garcia's third goal of the 2026 season.
In a tale of two halves, Rhode Island controlled the opening stanza and led 3-0 after the first 45 minutes. The Rams struck first in the seventh minute as Claire O'Neill scored from outside the 18-yard box. O'Neill placed a long-range strike off a short corner kick just inside the left post.
Nicolasa Jacobs added a goal in the 23rd minute to give the Rams a 2-0 lead. Jacobs scored off a rebound after Samantha Widnick made a diving save to deny Megan Steinbach.
Molly Merkel put the Rams up by three in the 35th minute. Courtney Poon set up the goal, racing from the Rams' defensive half to their attacking midfield area. Poon dished to Merkel on a breakaway, who tapped in for the empty-net goal after getting past Widnick outside of the 18-yard box.
After hitting the left post in the 54th minute, Moore put the Explorers on the scoreboard in the 59th minute on a feed from junior defender Bri Lewis.
La Salle continued to build momentum late in the contest. Garcia brought the Explorers within one at the 76th minute mark with a strike from inside the 18-yard box that was set up by Moore's second assist of the season.
Less than a minute later, Rhode Island defender Natalie White received a red card for a flagrant tackle from just outside the 18-yard box on Justyce Hollenbach, who was racing towards the goal.
The Explorers pushed the pace down the stretch but could not find the equalizer with the man-up advantage. La Salle finished the game with a 17-9 advantage in total shots, while each team recorded seven shots on goal.
La Salle will travel to Dayton (4-5-2, 1-0-2 A10) on Friday, October 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Baujan Field.
