Women's Soccer | 10/20/2021 9:09:00 PM
HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University women's soccer team claimed their fourth Empire 8 conference victory of the fall season in a 3-0 victory over Houghton College on Wednesday evening from Burke Field. The win for the Saxons (9-4-3, 4-1-1 Empire 8) marks a school record for the women's soccer program. In addition, Alfred clinched a berth in the 2021 Empire 8 Women's Soccer Tournament.
AU finished with 14 shots, nine of which were on goal. The Saxons also put across a season-high 10 corner kicks in their win against the Highlanders.
"It was nice to get our fourth conference win of the season," Head Coach
Craig Yanni said. "We have two really tough games left which we are looking forward to."
Midfielder
Claire Squicciarini (Albion, NY/Charles D'Amico) recorded one goal on a team-high four shots. Defender
Katline Cartwright (Le Roy, NY/Le Roy) and midfielder
Alyssa Smith (Pearl River, NY/Pearl River) each scored once for the Saxons. Goalkeeper
Hannah Fuller (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Forks) pickup up four saves in her fifth shutout victory of the fall campaign.
The Saxons wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Squicciarini found the back of the net at the 1:42 mark of the opening half to give AU the early lead. The offense continued to set the pace, as they tacked on five shots before their first corner kick opportunity. A pass from defender
Jacey Palmgreen (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) to Cartwright resulted in a goal to expand AU's advantage. The Saxons forced two more shots and one corner kick before entering halftime with a 2-0 lead.
The AU offense applied additional pressure in the second half, as a pass from forward
Karah Landries (Angelica, NY/Genesee Valley Central) to Smith gave the Saxons a 3-0 lead. Alfred University successfully defended three shots and one corner kick from the Highlanders to secure the victory.
"The entire team played well tonight," Yanni said. "It was a good effort all around. We are continuing to focus on a few small aspects of our game that we feel we can continue to improve on."
The Saxons will return home to host St. John Fisher on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.