ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - Struggling to find an offensive spark all night, the Bard College women's soccer team finally found what it needed - desperation - and by then it was really too late.

Down 2-0, Bard cut the lead in half with just over two minutes left in the game, but lost a Liberty League contest to Skidmore on Tuesday night, 2-1.

The Thoroughbreds improved to 5-6-1 overall, 1-4-1 in the Liberty League; Bard fell to 7-8, 1-5.

Bard had the better of the play in the first five minutes, but then Skidmore took charge, and took the lead in the 14th minute. A shot from close range was blocked by a Bard defender, and Kelly O'Donnell (Norwalk, CT) slotted the rebound into the lower left corner to make it 1-0. Skidmore outshot Bard, 11-6 in the first half, but the Raptors managed just one shot on goal, and it wasn't threatening.

The second half looked a lot like the first half, and in the 71st minute, Skidmore made it 2-0. A high shot by Jacqueline Carames (North Salem, NY) hit the crossbar, and Emma Basso (Norwell, MA) pounced on the rebound and scored from close range.

That's when Bard got desperate, and it started to create some offensive opportunities. Just five minutes after Basso's goal, Giuliana Scanni broke free in the box, but Skidmore keeper Alyssa Rollins (Rochester, NY) made a diving save to her left. Dylan McDonald was there for a poor-angle shot on the rebound, and Rollins knocked that one away, too.

Bard kept the pressure up and Skidmore handled it until the 88th minute, when Dylan McDonald was taken down in the box and scored on the ensuing penalty kick to halve the Thoroughbreds' lead.

The Raptors' last chance to score came with 41 seconds left, when McDonald got loose but had her shot blocked by a defender at the last second.

Up next for Bard is Senior Day for Kelsey O'Brien and Clara Gallagher. The game against RPI starts at 2 p.m. Follow it live right here.