Wins for Elmira, Ithaca, Naz, Fisher and Stevens

10/11/2014 7:53:00 PM

ITHACA 4, UTICA 0
The Ithaca College women's soccer team defeated Utica Saturday afternoon, dropping the Pioneers by a score of 4-0 at Gaetano Stadium on the campus of Utica College. The Bombers are now 9-2-0 overall, including a mark of 4-1 in the Empire 8.

Junior Kelsey King scored twice in the victory, while sophomores Lindsey Parkins and Jocelyn Ravesi each chipped in with one goal. Junior goalkeeper Beth Coppolecchia stopped the only shot she faced in the contest for her seventh shutout of the season. Ithaca dominated in total shots, recording 21 to Utica's four.

King scored her first of the day at 13:37, as she converted on a penalty kick to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead. Ithaca struck again in the 16th minute, as Parkins converted on shot that deflected off a Pioneer defender in front. Parkins' goal marked her first point as a Bomber, and gave Ithaca the 2-0 lead at the half.

King got the scoring going again in the second half, tipping a centering feed from sophomore Holly Niemiec past the Utica keeper at 56:43. King's goal marked her team leading ninth tally of the season and pushed Ithaca's lead to 3-0.

Ravesi scored the final insurance marker for the Bombers in the 74th minute. Ravesi's first goal of the season pushed the Bombers' lead to 4-0, and secured the Ithaca victory.


ST. JOHN FISHER 1, ALFRED 0
The St. John Fisher College women's soccer blanked host Alfred University in a 1-0 victory on Saturday afternoon marking their second consecutive Empire 8 Conference victory.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 4-8 overall and 2-1 in Empire 8 play. The Saxons fall to 3-8-2 and 0-4, respectively.
 
Fisher maintained possession throughout the first half, taking 14 shots. The Cardinals couldn't find the back of the net, however, as the score remained 0-0 heading into halftime.
 
Carly Finn put Fisher on the board in the 57th minute. Her unassisted goal was her first score of the season.
 
Alfred tallied its first shot of the game in the 87th minute.

Goalkeeper Brooke Seavitt started in goal for the first 65 minutes before Gabriella Cotugno came in for the remainder of the game. 


NAZARETH 3, HARTWICK 1
Nazareth's women's soccer team, ranked 21st nationally, defeated visiting Hartwick 3-1 in an Empire 8 Conference contest Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Michaela Soules had a part in each of the Golden Flyers' goals with an assist on both of the goals by graduate student Christine Belding before scoring her fourth goal of the season in the final minutes of regulation.

With the victory, Nazareth improves to 9-2-1 overall, and the Golden Flyers remain undefeated in Empire 8 contests with a 4-0 record. Following the loss, the Hawks drop to 7-3-1 overall and 3-1-1 in conference games.

The victory puts Nazareth on top of the conference standings before tomorrow's critical game at 25th-ranked Ithaca. Ithaca is currently in second place in the standings with a 4-1 conference record. Since 1999, Nazareth or Ithaca has won 13 of 15 of the conference titles, including five shared titles. Hartwick is third, and Stevens is fourth with a 3-1 conference record. Ithaca's lone loss was to Stevens, and Stevens' loss was to Elmira. Sunday's game at Ithaca is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Belding scored her first goal of the game 20:42 into the first half after receiving a cross from Soules. Soules collected a loose ball at the left side the end line and crossed it to Belding, who was waiting by the Hartwick goal to knock it past the Hawks' goalie, Annie Millar. Belding's goal was the only scoring in the opening period.

Hartwick scored 63 seconds into the second half, however, as Allie Ricci scored her first goal of the season after receiving a pass from Sierra Bentley. The tie score lasted roughly 18 minutes before Belding scored again on nearly an identical play as her first goal. Soules collected another loose ball on the left side of the field near the end line and sent a cross to Belding, who converted the scoring opportunity to reclaim the Golden Flyers' lead. With her two goals Saturday, Belding now has four goals on the season.

Soules added an insurance goal with 5:35 to play in regulation on a corner kick opportunity. Junior Courtney Malia played the ball toward the left post, and Soules converted the corner kick with a header into the Hawks' net.

Nazareth finished with a dominant advantage in total shots, 24-6, and the Golden Flyers also had a 6-3 advantage in corner kick chances. Millar recorded a game-high 11 saves to keep the Hawks in the game. Sophomore Allison Dobles earned the victory for Nazareth, and she was credited with three saves. Hartwick's Casey Boucher, Sierra Bentley, and Kylie Thayer entered Saturday's game with 15 combined goals, and the Golden Flyers' tenacious defense held the trio to three total shots.


STEVENS 3, HOUGHTON 1
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team has now won three straight matches with a 3-1 Empire 8 Conference victory at Houghton College on Saturday.

Stevens (8-4, 3-1) founds itself in a 1-1 tie after 45 minutes of play with Houghton. Senior Ann Heine notched the game's first goal in the 24th minute off a pass from sophomore Raba Nassif.

The Highlanders answered back in the 39th minute to close out the first half on the 12th goal of the season from Stephany Ellison.

Less than two minutes apart in the second half, the Ducks turned a 1-1 deadlock into a 3-1 lead on markers from senior Mariah Cleveland and Heine. Cleveland scored at the 60:17 mark off a feed from senior Stephanie Basile and Heine picked up her second score of the game off a pass from freshman Sandi Komar.

Freshman Lindsey Mahnken made a career-high nine saves in the match for her eighth win of the season.

Stevens outshot Houghton, 23-14, while corner kicks were in favor of the Ducks, 6-3.


ELMIRA 2, Alvernia 1
Abby Saturni '18 scored her second goal of the season with just under 12 minutes left in regulation, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Elmira College women's soccer team to a 2-1 road victory over Alvernia University. Amanda Banner '17 received the starting nod for today's contest and made three saves for the victory.
 
The Soaring Eagles got off to a slow start against Alvernia, as the Crusaders statistically dominated the first half of play. Alvernia outshot EC 8-0 and earned five corner kicks compared to Elmira's zero in the first half, but EC's defense maintained the "bend but don't break" notion and kept the Crusaders off the scoreboard. Banner also recorded all three of her saves in the first half, leading to a 0-0 tie at the break.
 
It appeared that the Purple and Gold flipped a switch during halftime as they came out looking like a different team in the second half. EC dominated possession early in the second half leading to many quality scoring chances. The heightened aggression and increased offensive pressure led to Elmira's first break of the contest as an Alvernia defender was whistled for a handball inside the box with under 18 minutes to play, giving EC a penalty kick. Danielle Fournier '15 stepped up to take the penalty kick and buried it in the right side of the net to give Elmira the 1-0 lead. For Fournier, the successful penalty kick marked the first goal of her collegiate career. 
 
EC's advantage did not last long, however, as Alvernia answered back to tie the game just 56 seconds later on a long shot from 35 yards out. The bending shot bounced just out of the reach of Banner and into the back of the net making it a 1-1 game.
 
The flurry of goals continued as the Purple and Gold once again went on the offensive. After turning the Crusaders over near midfield, Mollie Hamilton '15 gathered the ball and looked towards Saturni, who was making a run towards the 18-yard box. Hamilton threaded the needle with her 25-yard through ball, hitting Saturni in stride just as she entered the box. Saturni, with a defender on her right shoulder, took two dribbles and blasted the shot past Alvernia's keeper, putting EC back ahead, 2-1, with 11:02 to play.
 
With the 2-1 lead and just over 11 minutes on the clock, the Soaring Eagles took their foot off the gas and dropped everyone behind the ball. The defensive approach would hold off the Crusaders' push for the equalizer as Elmira would hold on for the 2-1 victory.

SCHOOL	CONF	OVERALL
Nazareth	4-0	9-2-1
Ithaca	4-1	9-2
Hartwick	3-1-1	7-3-1
Stevens	3-1	8-4
St. John Fisher	2-1	4-8
Elmira	1-2-1	4-5-2
Houghton	1-4	5-6
Alfred	0-4	3-8-2
Utica	0-4	4-7-1