Women’s Soccer Claims Sixth-Straight in 1-0 GNAC Win vs. Simmons
BOSTON – An early opportunity headed into the net by Saints first-year Ciara Horan (Braintree, Mass.) proved to be the only tally of the match, as the Emmanuel Saints claimed their sixth straight win and remained unbeaten in conference play with a 1-0 victory over the Simmons Sharks on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.
BOSTON – An early opportunity headed into the net by Saints first-year Ciara Horan (Braintree, Mass.) proved to be the only tally of the match, as the Emmanuel Saints claimed their sixth straight win and remained unbeaten in conference play with a 1-0 victory over the Simmons Sharks on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play.
In the fifth minute, the Saints drew their third corner of the match, making this opportunity count for the lead. Sophomore Liz McCormick (Cumberland, R.I.) swung a perfect corner kick to the back post, into a group of players, as Horan ran into that cluster, heading home her second of the season in the opening minutes.
Emmanuel nearly doubled their lead in the 17th minute on another corner kick chance. The out-swinging ball from senior Lily Tobin (Hanover, Mass.) bounced around the box, eventually finding first-year Lauren Miley (Foxboro, Mass.), who fired a shot off the crossbar and out, keeping the score at 1-0.
The Saints kept the pressure up throughout the first half, outshooting the Sharks 8-1, but despite the shots advantage, only two Emmanuel attempts were on frame, as EC held on to the 1-0 lead into the half.
Simmons held strong defensively between their back line and sophomore keeper Julia Rodgers (Haverhill, Mass.), keeping Emmanuel to just a one-goal edge.
Another EC chance to add to their lead came in the 82nd minute on a breakaway chance by sophomore Sarah Dullaghan (Belmont, Mass.). Dullaghan found space behind the Sharks defense and was in alone on goal, but Rodgers came out to cut off the angle and make another key stop in keeping Simmons down 1-0.
The Sharks best chance came in the final minutes with a shot by first-year Lauren Krupnikoff (Farmington, Conn.) from 30 yards out. A mis-cleared ball by the Saints found Krupnikoff with a shooting lane, but her attempt was right at Saints sophomore Gaby Baker (Grafton, Mass.).
Emmanuel's 1-0 win comes despite controlling the majority of the play, outshooting Simmons 17-4 while also holding a 12-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Baker finished the afternoon with three saves, improving to 5-1 (4-0 GNAC) with the victory. Rodgers made six saves for Simmons, dropping to 0-5-1 this season.
The Saints return for more GNAC play on Tuesday, Sept. 26, hosting Lasell University at 7:00 p.m. at Clemente Field. Simmons returns with a GNAC match on Sept. 26, hosting New England College at 7:00 p.m. on Daly Field.
