Brown tallied five saves in Skyhawks' second win of the season against a nationally-ranked opponent
Slade tallied her second and third goals of the season for her first multi-point game of the season (PHOTO BY: Andrew Katsampes) |
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (October 2, 2019) – The Stonehill College women's soccer team, who is ranked No. 4 in this week's United Soccer Coaches' East Regional poll, defeated No. 21 Southern New Hampshire University, who is also ranked No. 3 in the East Region poll Wednesday night at Penmen Stadium in Northeast-10 Conference play.
This was the Skyhawks' second victory against a nationally-ranked team, as they beat then-No. 18 Franklin Pierce University, 4-1 at home on Skyhawk Field. This is also the first time since 2016 that Stonehill has defeated two nationally-ranked teams in the same season, as the Skyhawks shutout No. 20 LIU Post and edged No. 5 Adelphi University, 4-3, when they received their first NCAA Tournament bid.
Stonehill's (7-1-1, 5-0-1 NE10) freshman Emma Slade scored two goals, while junior Alex Giardina, and sophomores Camryn Thompson and Megan Giambanco put in one goal each. The helpers came from Nicole Geraghty, Tess Erwin, Bella MacNeil, and Giambanco. Senior Kaitlin Brown tallied five big saves in net.
Stonehill saw Slade with her second goal of the season, as she lifted the ball from about 25 yards away sending it over the goalkeepers' outstretched hands at 5:10 to put the Skyhawks up 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Brown tipped the ball over the crossbar for her first save of the game. The Penmen got off their first corner kick of the game and Alexis Fruzzetti was able to push the ball past defenders to even the score at one, 1-1, at 6:47.
The Skyhawks gained possession after a defensive miscue for the Penmen, as Giardina brought the ball down to her feet off a headed ball, finding the back of the net giving them the lead once again, 2-1, at 27:36. Six minutes before the end of the half, Southern New Hampshire saw back-to-back shots off the post and crossbar, and the Skyhawks' defense cleared the attack to hold their advantage.
Giambanco and Thompson are now second on the team with 10 points each (PHOTO BY: Andrew Katsampes) |
Thompson put in her fifth goal of the season and 14th tally of her career in net less than five minutes before the end of the half as she went one-on-one with a defender tucking the ball home for a two-goal advantage, 3-1, as MacNeil recorded her second assist of the season. With less than a minute in the first half, Giambanco played the ball around a defender near the left sideline sent the ball from about 30 yards out for her fourth goal of her career at 44:32 for a three-goal lead, 4-1.
With no time to spare, the Penmen saw Allyson Patterson with a goal at 49:40 to cut the deficit to two, 4-2. She was able to put back a rebound from Dorthea Glorud's shot that hit the crossbar early in the second half. Stonehill played a very defensive second half to protect their lead, until the Skyhawks got off their fourth corner kick of the game and Slade was able to net her second goal of the game following another Penmen defensive miscue inside the box, extending their lead back to three, 5-2.
Stonehill will face NE10 Conference foes No. 10 College of Saint Rose, who is also ranked No. 1 in the East Region, on Saturday, October 5 with a start time of 2:00 p.m.
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