WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - In a battle between the remaining two unbeaten sides in Northeast Conference women's soccer, Monmouth University dropped a 1-0 decision to Central Connecticut State, on Friday afternoon.

Monmouth, which suffered its first defeat since a double overtime loss to Lehigh on September 20, falls to 10-4-1 overall and 5-1-1 in the league. CCSU, which improves to 6-0-1 in the NEC, stands at 8-6-2 overall.

"It was a game of two halves as the wind played a factor," stated head coach Krissy Turner. "Unfortunately they capitalized on one of their chances, and despite having a lot of good looks in the second half, we did not put any of them in."

CCSU went ahead 1-0 in the 18th minute when Beth Lloyd collected a ball just in front of Monmouth goalkeeper Lia Fierro, and her service made it across the line before Ali Kliment could clear it away.

The scoring play started with a clearance from the back from CCSU goalkeeper Caity Casey, who found Brittany Jackson, who played a through ball to Leah Blayney, leading to the score.

Monmouth nearly knotted the contest with 11:30 minutes left when Mary Wilks outraced two Central defenders and chipped an attempt on frame, as Casey was off her line, but the ball hit the post.

Casey made a pair of diving, one-handed saves to open the second half, to keep the Blue Devils in front. With 40 minutes remaining, she stabbed Andrea Lopez's attempt, and three minutes later made a similar save on Mary Wilks' breakaway.

Monmouth, which outshot the Blue Devils 19-9 in the match, forced Casey to make 11 saves. Fierro, who has now allowed just four goals in the last 13 matches for the Hawks, made four saves.

Monmouth returns to action on Sunday, October 25, when the Hawks host Quinnipiac in Northeast Conference action, on The Great Lawn. Monmouth's "Senior Day" kicks off at 1:00 p.m.