Women's Soccer: Oct 19

10/19/2013 5:01:18 PM

Ithaca 1, Nazareth 0
The No. 5 Ithaca College women's soccer team (12-1-0, 5-0-0 E8) defeated Nazareth Saturday afternoon, dropping the Golden Flyers by a score of 1-0 at Golden Flyer Stadium.

Sophomore Kelsey King scored the lone Bomber goal, while fellow sophomore goalkeeper Beth Coppolecchia made six saves on six shots in the victory. Coppolecchia's shutout marks her sixth of the season.

Both goalkeepers were perfect in the first 45 minutes of play, as neither team was able to score in the opening frame. Nazareth outshot the Bombers in the first half, holding a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal.

The contest's only score came with just under 10 minutes to go in the game. Senior Anna Gray started the play, sending a corner kick towards the front of the Golden Flyer net. King took possession and beat the Nazareth goalkeeper for her team-leading ninth tally of the season.

The Bombers held strong defensively for the remainder of the game, not allowing another shot on net to secure the 1-0 victory.


Stevens 5, Alfred 0
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team recorded a 5-0 shutout against Alfred University in an Empire 8 Conference tilt on Saturday in Hoboken. Stevens notched five first half goals to improve to 8-6 overall and 4-1 in the Empire 8.

The Ducks wasted no time to put a goal on the board with their first marker in the seventh minute off a corner kick from junior Mariah Cleveland that found senior Bridgette Barden Cleveland's service into the box connected with Barden on a header for her fifth goal of the season for the game-winner. It was also the third helper for Cleveland on the year.

Just over three minutes later (10:10 into the match), sophomore Kristen Goncalves sent a long through ball down the right side of the field that found freshmanRaba Nassif  who immediately sent a cross to sophomore Maggie Coppa that gave Stevens a 2-0 edge. The tally was the first collegiate goal for Coppa.

The Ducks posted their third goal of the opening 45 minutes in the 15th minute on an unassisted score from Nassif after she stole the ball from the Saxons defense and left Nassif with an open net. Nearly 10 minutes later, Alfred fell to some misfortune and awarded Stevens with the fourth score on an own goal after a Ducks shot attempt ricocheted off the foot of a Saxon.

Stevens finished off its offensive onslaught with just under two minutes left in the half on the sixth goal of the season by freshman Gabby Mathelier. The play began off a pass from freshman Allison Kopacz that split the backline of Alfred and found the feet of Coppa who sent a short pass to Mathelier.

In all, four different Ducks scored in the match and five assists were handed out in the victory.

Just as impressive, the Stevens defense held Alfred to one shot and the goalkeeping tandem of sophomores Evelyn Ting and Leah Spaulding split time in goal to combine on the shutout. Ting made one save to earn the win and Spaulding did not face a shot.

Stevens took 22 shots on the afternoon but were called for 12 offside violations.


St. John Fisher 3, Utica 2
The St. John Fisher College women's soccer team scored three second half goals to storm back from a 1-0 hole at intermission to earn a 3-2 victory in a pivotal Empire 8 matchup against Utica College, Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium.

The Pioneers opened the scoring, netting their first attempt in the sixth minute, sneaking a deflected ball past Fisher goalkeeper, Brooke Seavitt.

Despite the early deficit, the Cardinals were the aggressors in first half, outshooting the Pioneers 14 to four, but were unable to score. Fisher's best opportunity for retaliation came in the 18^th minute when Chelsea Oberkrieser broke away from the Utica defense and took Pioneer goalkeeper Jamie Enders on by her lonesome. Oberkrieser's shot deflected off the goalie's hands and narrowly slid by the far post, preserving Utica's advantage.

Fisher's continuous pressure finally paid off early in second half as seniors Oberkrieser and Rohloff showed off their chemistry. In the 48^th minute, Oberkrieser corralled a deflected ball off a Utica defender on the left flank and quickly passed to Rohloff who tapped in the game tying goal. Moments later, Oberkrieser and Rohloff teamed up again in similar fashion to take a 2-1 lead.

Molly Beaton added another second half goal for the Cardinals to extend the lead to 3-1.

Utica cut into Fisher's advantage with a goal in the 79^th minute but the Cardinals were able to waste away the final minutes of play to secure the victory.

Seavitt finished the match with four saves for Fisher.


Houghton 5, Hartwick 1
The Houghton Women's Soccer team played an outstanding game against the Hawks of Hartwick College, winning 5-1. There couldn't have been a better outing for the Highlanders, considering it was the last night that the seniors would ever play a game on Burke Field.

There are 11 special seniors that were honored this evening: Michelle Mahoney, Atalie Fite, Erin Miller, Melissa Lincoln, Alyssa Figueroa, Marjory Kauffman, Amanda Zacchigna, Andi Atherton, Erin VanLente, Lauren Daugherty, and Emilie Edwards. All seniors performed in tonight's game, helping to give the Highlanders an impressive 11-3 record.

The Highlanders took a 1-0 lead when Stephany Ellison (Whitesville, NY, Whitesville HS) scored in the 23^rd minute of the first half. During this first half, Michelle Mahoney(Sutton, MA, Sutton) had one save without any allowed goals.

The second half of the game consisted of more shots-on-goal by both teams. The Highlanders allowed for the Hawks' lone goal to be scored. The Highlander seniors, however, stepped up their game when Erin Miller (Mt. Vernon, OH, Mount Vernon) contributed 1 goal and 1 assist, and Atalie Fite (Cincinnati, OH, Home School) contributed with 1 goal and 2 assists.

Ellison's goal in the first half was not her only offensive investment; she scored 2 more goals as well as 1 assist in the second half.


Union 4, Elmira 0
In their fifth road game in their last seven contests, the Elmira College women's soccer team (3-9-1) fell 4-0 to No. 9 regionally ranked Union College (9-4-0).  Elmira goalkeeper Amanda Banner '17 made seven saves in today's contest.

Elmira applied early pressure on Union with a pair of shots, one of those shots making its way on frame. However, Union would make the most of their chances as they tallied two goals in the first half and added another two scores in the second to claim a 4-0 victory.