Skyhawks advance to eighth NE-10 Semifinal Round in program history
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| Sophomore midfielder Catherine Kelly netted the eventual game-winning goal on a penalty kick at 70:35. |
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 1, 2011) – The fifth-seeded Stonehill College women's soccer team earned a 3-2 victory over fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Quarterfinal round action on Tuesday at Jess Dow Field.
Stonehill (11-6-2, 9-5-2 NE-10), playing in its 12th NE-10 Tournament in program history, advances to the semifinal round against the no.1 seeded Golden Knights of The College of Saint Rose (17-1-1, 13-1-1 NE-10) on Friday, November 4 at the Christian Plumeri Sports Complex at 4 p.m. The Golden Knights have won the last four NE-10 Championships and are currently ranked 15th overall in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Poll. Southern Connecticut's season concludes at 10-5-3/8-5-3 NE-10.
Senior goalkeeper/forward Sarah Hickey (Lee, Mass./Lee) led the Skyhawks offensively scoring the first goal of the contest and assisting on another. Junior back Sara Nagle (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) and sophomore midfielder Catherine Kelly (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) also added markers.
Hickey opened up the scoring at 14:10 corralling a deflected ball off of a defender in space, taking the ball all the away in from about 30 yards out and beating Owls goalkeeper Jacquelyn Fede (North Haven, Conn./Cheshire) one-on-one for her fifth goal of the season.
Sophomore midfielder/forward Suzane Pires (Sao Paulo, Brazil/International School of Stuttgart) evened the score at 1-1 at 28:29 cleaning up a loose ball in the box that deflected off of a defender past Skyhawks goalkeeper Amy Wheaton (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) for her team-leading sixth marker of the season.
Nagle broke open the tied game at 57:01 receiving a pass from Hickey inside the box and sniping a shot into the lower right corner of the net for her first tally of the year.
Kelly pushed the gap to 3-1 striking home a penalty kick opportunity at 70:35 for her second goal and game-winner of the season.
Freshman midfielder Stephanie Santos (Naugatuck, Conn./Naugatuck) cut the deficit in half at 72:29 roofing a shot into the top right corner of the net past Wheaton to make it 3-2. Southern Connecticut's rally came up short as Wheaton turned away a Santos shot at 75:53 and senior midfielder Jenna Mallico (Milford, Conn./Foran) clanked a chance off the crossbar at 83:31.
Stonehill's defense, who entered the NE-10 Tournament leading the conference in goals against average in league play at a 0.58 clip, did not allow a shot for the remainder of the contest.
Wheaton made two saves in net while Fede notched a game-high five saves.
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