Oct. 14, 2009

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. - Senior captain Kate McKenna (Holyoke, Mass.) netted three goals to lead the Emmanuel Women's Soccer Team to a 4-2 win over the visiting Falcons of Fitchburg State College on Wednesday night. The non-conference win at Clemente Field lifted the Saints to 9-5-1 on the season, while the Falcons' ledger dropped to 3-9-1.

The Saints struck early, with McKenna's first marker coming just ten minutes into the contest. She was assisted by junior forward Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, Mass.), who tallied two helpers on the night. Emmanuel held the 1-0 advantage for much of the opening period. The Saints tacked on another one at 31:35, when McKenna put back a deflection by Fitchburg State keeper Kyla Batchelder (Stoughton, Mass.), giving the Saints a 2-0 edge. Freshman forward Meghan Zerba (Cumberland, R.I.) was credited with the assist, having taken the initial shot on goal. Emmanuel carried the 2-0 lead into halftime.

Sophomore forward Melanie Hoffman (Topsham, Maine) notched her 3rd goal of the season just two minutes into the second stanza. She was assisted by classmate Logan Carr (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and Di Nucci on a pretty play inside the box. Di Nucci's second assist on the night gives her a total of 11 this season and she continues to lead the GNAC in playmaking.

The Falcons found the scoreboard in the 53rd minute, when sophomore Lindsay Taylor (Blythewood, S.C.) came off the bench to net one of her two shots on goal. She was assisted by Julie Dowson (Winthrop, Mass.). Fitchburg's goal brought cut the deficit to 3-1.

Emmanuel capped its scoring in the 62nd minute, when McKenna scored her third goal of the night. The stumbling midfielder drilled a left-footed bomb into the back of the net before falling backward onto the turf. McKenna's second-half goal completed her hat-trick and brought her tally to 17 goals this season.

A late run by the Falcons provided another Fitchburg score. Rookie midfielder Olivia Schnorf (Springfield, Mass.) received an assist from Carissa Kennedy (Somerset, Mass.) at 75:29 to bring the score to 4-2. Emmanuel's fourth goal of the game proved to be an insurance one for the Saints, as they were able to pull out the 4-2 victory.

The offensive attacks were even as each team finished with 11 total shots. Freshman keeper Jessica D'Ottavio (Pawling, N.Y.) picked up the win for Emmanuel making 7 saves in her 90 minutes. Batchelder made 2 stops in 68 minutes for FSC, before being relieved by Melanie Berent (West Hartford, Conn.), who made one save in her 22-minute effort.

Emmanuel faces three tough non-conference opponents in the final two weeks of the season. The Saints will take on Simmons College at the Winsor School on Saturday in a noon start. Emmanuel will then play at Albertus Magnus College on October 20th and at home vs. Saint Joseph's College on October 24th.