This post was written by Hatchet reporter Nora Princiotti.
Senior co-captain Tyler Ranalli’s fourth goal in the last two games was too little, too late for the Colonials, who could not come back in a lackluster 2-1 loss to Saint Peter’s on Wednesday.
GW rallied at the last minute to avoid being shut out, but had played sloppy and unfocused to that point.
The Colonials struggled offensively through the first half, outshot 6-1 in the going into halftime. GW’s defense was able to keep the game scoreless despite consistent pressure from Saint Peter’s.
After the slow start, head coach Craig Jones said he wanted the team to adjust in the second half to push the ball upfield.
“We wanted to adjust our midfield to force the ball to where we wanted to go and allow us to play a little bit more,” he said.
The second half, however, opened in the worst way possible for GW. Just 35 seconds into the period, Saint Peter’s got on the board and the stunned Colonials seemed to forget their objectives on the field.
“The adjustments we planned to make at half time, when we conceeded the goal so quickly they kind of went out the window,” Jones said.
Suddenly playing catch-up, the Colonials were even more unsettled than they had been. Between the first Saint Peter’s goal and their eventual second, which came in the 78th minute, GW tried only one shot and was called five times for fouls and offsides.
“We conceeded two goals that were not just individual mistakes but group mistakes. There were lapses in concentration,” Jones said. “We kind of fell asleep.”
The Colonials would double up on their two shots in the final 12 minutes to finish the day with four, highlighted by Ranalli’s fifth goal of the season, already a career-high. Freshman Angel Valencia contributed the assist.
“We showed a little bit of fight, a little bit of character,” said Jones.
Ranalli has been hot of late, scoring three goals in the Colonials game against VMI last Saturday. His tricky goal on Wednesday came from a sharp angle and still sailed past the goalie.
“He showed he’s playing with a little bit of confidence with a shot that maybe he wouldn’t have taken earlier in the season,” Jones said. “He hit it this time and the goalkeeper had no chance.”
