Saxons Open E8 Play with Win Over Houghton College
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ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's soccer team opened Empire 8 play with a 2-0 win over previously unbeaten Houghton College. The Saxons move to 6-1 on the season and 1-0 in Empire 8 play, marking their best 7-game start since the 1996 season, when the team finished 13-5-1.
The two teams seemed to be evenly matched through the first twenty minutes of play before
Natalie O'Brien (Syracuse, NY/ East Syracuse-Minoa) snuck one past the goalkeeper to give AU the 1-0 advantage. The score stayed that way heading into the half. The lone scoring of the second half came when a Houghton defender attempted to clear the ball from in front of her own goal but ended up putting in it the net for an own goal, giving the Saxons a 2-0 lead.
O'Brien ended with two shots on goal while
Olivia Cronmiller (Livonia, NY/Livonia) finished with three shots on goal to lead AU.
Makenzie Cashmer (Weedville, PA/ Elk County Catholic) got the win in the net for the Saxons and ended with four saves.
"I think that it was a huge night for us. Getting the best [season] start since the 1996 team is huge,"
Head Coach Craig Yanni said. "The girls knew coming in that the best result we've ever had against Houghton is a tie (since 1993 – before joining the Empire 8) they were very determined to get the first E8 win against them. I think it shows that we're really set up to move forward into the E8 [schedule] and Houghton is a very great team this year who have had great results so we're very excited to how we played."
Alfred will be back at home on Saturday evening for a matchup with the University of Rochester, with kick-off slated for 6PM.