SAINTS PUSH MIT TO LIMIT, FALL 4-2 IN SEASON-OPENER

BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore goalkeeper Victoria LaRoche (Hudson, N.H.) made 10 saves in Emmanuel’s season opener, but the Saints were unable to hold off MIT, falling 4-2 to the Engineers on Thursday night at Roberto Clemente Field. The loss drops the Saints to 0-1 in the young season. MIT, who was ranked 26th in the most recent NCAA Division III Coaches’ Poll, improves to 1-1 on the campaign.

SAINTS PUSH MIT TO LIMIT, FALL 4-2 IN SEASON-OPENER
Box Score

Team Stats

September 3, 2015

BOSTON, Mass. - Sophomore goalkeeper Victoria LaRoche (Hudson, N.H.) made 10 saves in Emmanuel's season opener, but the Saints were unable to hold off MIT, falling 4-2 to the Engineers on Thursday night at Roberto Clemente Field. The loss drops the Saints to 0-1 in the young season.  MIT, who was ranked 26th in the most recent NCAA Division III Coaches' Poll, improves to 1-1 on the campaign.

The Saints struck first as senior Molly Carey (Swampscott, Mass.) took a pass from senior captain Ari Cardillo (Richmond, Mass.) and snuck a shot underneath MIT's outstretched keeper junior Lauren Ullman (Princeton, N.J.) in the 13th minute. Cardillo created the play by carrying the ball through the MIT midfield untouched before delivering a through-ball to Carey for the finish.

The Engineers applied pressure, and after three saves by LaRoche, were finally able to break through in the 23rd minute. Freshman Amy Apostol (Los Gatos, Calif.) drove a shot into the upper half of the goal, tying the game at 1-1 with the first goal of her career. Junior Anna Zukowski (Ridgefield, Conn.) picked up her first assist of the season on the play.

MIT did not wait long to take the lead for good, as junior Kathleen Chen (Chappaqua, N.Y.) hit a strike from beyond 20 yards and found netting for her first goal of the season in the 25th minute.

The Saints entered the second half facing a 2-1 deficit, and put a few early charges on in the opening minutes, but it was the Engineers who would create some distance on an unassisted goal by sophomore Jacqueline Simmons (Houston, Texas) in the 54th minute. Simmons goal came off a direct kick restart from 30 yards out that snuck just under the bar for the third MIT goal of the evening.

MIT tacked on another in the 62nd minute, as sophomore Olivia Struckman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) set up senior Morgon Moroi (New Albany, Ohio) for her first goal of the season.

Emmanuel nearly cut the lead to two goals in the 69th minute but Ullman stopped Carey on a point blank shot to keep the lead at 4-1.

The Saints second-half effort finally paid off in the 78th minute when freshman Rachel Beliveau (West Springfield, Mass.) scored the first goal of her career on an assist from junior Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.), pulling her team within two but the Engineer defensive unit made the score stand en route to a 4-2 final.

Ullman earned the win for the Engineers, her first of the season. She made three saves in 70:01 between the pipes. Junior Hannah Zlotnick (Rochester, N.Y.) relieved Ullman for the final 19:59 of the second half.

LaRoche suffered the loss for the Saints, her first of the season, despite making 10 saves in the effort.

The Engineers will host Worcester State on Tuesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. as their non-conference schedule continues. The Saints will return to action on Saturday and Sunday as they search for their first victory of 2015 against Nazareth College and Rochester Institute of Technology in the RIT Tiger Invitational in Rochester, N.Y.