JWU Prevails, 3-1, in Battle For First in GNAC Women’s Soccer Tilt

THE BASICS 
Emmanuel College, 1 – Johnson & Wales Univ., 3

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (12-2-1, 8-2 GNAC)
JWU Wildcats (13-2-1, 10-0 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Clemente Field

Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022

THE LEAD – Johnson & Wales University remained unbeaten in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) topping host Emmanuel College 3-1 in a battle for first in the GNAC Women's Soccer standings Saturday morning at Roberto Clemente Field.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel came out strong and had the first scoring chance of the game on a cornerkick as senior centerback Catherine Manning (Peabody, Mass.) headed a shot to frame that deflected off the crossbar to keep thing scoreless early on.
• The Wildcats got on the board in the 23^rd minute following a failed Emmanuel clear where first year forward Kylie Schmidt (Kintersville, Pa.) slid a pass to Lauren Moriarty (Narragansett, R.I.) who netted her first collegiate goal to put JWU ahead 1-0.
• Johnson & Wales delivered a huge blow to the hosts late in the half as senior Brittney Landry (Gorham, Maine) set up graduate student forward Jordan Restivo (Utica, N.Y.) for her team-leading 13^th goal of the season with just over one minute remaining in the opening stanza, bumping the JWU lead to 2-0.
• The Wildcats outshot the Saints by a 10-2 margin in the half.
• After switching ends, the momentum shifted to the Saints to open the second period and junior forward Addie LeGault (Farmington, Conn.) cut the JWU lead in half with her 14^th goal of the year. First year forward Sarah Dullaghan (Belmont, Mass.) set up LeGault for the score to make it a 2-1 contest with 35 minutes remaining, setting up an exciting finish in a battle for the top spot in the GNAC standings.
• EC's best chance to net the equalizer came in the 75^th minute as first year midfielder Liz McCormick's (Cumberland, R.I.) cornerkick slipped through the hands of JWU sophomore keeper Carly McCrumb (Granville, Mich.) but no Saint was on the end of the loose ball in time before it was cleared from harm's way.
• Johnson & Wales sealed the win in the 90^th minute as first year MacKenna Renaud (Cranston, R.I.) slipped free on a semi-breakaway, lofting a shot into the back of the net with seven seconds to play to account for the 3-1 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• JWU stays unbeaten in league play at 10-0 and extends its winning streak to 12 while the Saints winning streak ends at seven.
• McCrumb earns the victory in net, making a pair of stops for the Wildcats to improve to 9-2-1 on the year and 8-0 in league action.
• EC first year keeper Sandra Griffith (Roland, Ark.) suffered the setback, recording three saves in 46+ minutes of action while Patricia Kirejczyk (Ansonia, Conn.) added a pair of stops in the other 44 minutes logged.
• JWU improves to 17-10-4 all-time vs. the Saints and has now won six straight dating back to the 2017 season.
• Restivo's game-winner was her fourth of the year and 14^th of her career.
• Dullaghan has now recorded at least one point in seven of the last eight for the Saints.

UP NEXT

• The Saints will look to rebound on Wednesday, October 19^th in another important GNAC contest when they play host to Regis College at 7:00 PM.
• JWU is back a day earlier on Tuesday, October 18^th, playing the University of Saint Joseph (CT) in GNAC action at 7:00 PM in Providence, R.I.