In the second night of their road trip swing south, the Northern Virginia Majestics again were unable to score and fell 2-0 to the Atlanta Silverbacks on Saturday night. The Silverbacks found the net twice in the final three minutes to remain undefeated and alone atop the Atlantic Division.
Atlanta began Saturday night’s match with early offensive pressure, sending several quick attacks into the Northern Virginia defensive third to no avail. The Majestic defense settled in and held firm, and gradually found a few counterattack opportunities as the first half wore on. With neither side finding a way to break onto the scoreboard, the first half ended in a scoreless draw.
Burdened with the task of a Silverbacks side averaging nearly 2.6 goals a game, the Majestics defense knew their duties for the evening would be challenging. The Northern Virginia back line, combined with an exceptional performance from goalkeeper Olivia Brown, denied Atlanta for most of the evening and nearly kept the home-side scoreless.
With the match still deadlocked in the waning minutes, Atlanta finally found a solution from their bench. Midfielder Kylie Hopper slotted the ball to fellow Silverback substitute Jenny Meyer on a nifty run into the defensive third. Meyer punched the ball over the head of the closing keeper Brown to earn the eventual game-winner in the 87th minute.
The Silverbacks capitalized in the 90th minute on an inadvertent hand ball in the box that caught the official’s attention. Hopper converted the ensuing penalty kick to close out the Atlanta victory.
The loss drops the Majestics to an Atlantic Division record of 1-6-0, marking the second worst start inNorthern Virginia franchise history. In their 1999 inaugural season, the Majestics compiled a winless 0-11-0 record.
Northern Virginia heads to Richmondon Thursday, June 25th to face the Destiny at 7:00PM. The Majestics return home on Saturday, June 27th, to face the Charlotte Eagles at Hellwig Memorial Field in Manassas, Virginia. Match time is scheduled for 6:00PM.
