WOMEN’S SOCCER FALLS TO SIMMONS IN GNAC QUARTERFINALS
BOSTON, Mass. - Simmons College scored early and late to power past Emmanuel College, 2-0, Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at Roberto Clemente Field. The No. 6 Sharks bounce the No. 3 Saints from the tourney field and await the winner of the No. 7 Albertus Magnus vs. No. 2 Johnson & Wales University for their Semifinal opponent.
THE BASICS
Score: Emmanuel College, 0; Simmons College, 2
Records: Emmanuel College Saints (11-8-1); Simmons College Sharks (10-6-2)
Location: Boston, Mass. – Roberto Clemente Field
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2017
THE LEAD: Simmons College scored early and late to power past Emmanuel College, 2-0, Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinals at Roberto Clemente Field. The No. 6 Sharks bounce the No. 3 Saints from the tourney field and await the winner of the No. 7 Albertus Magnus vs. No. 2 Johnson & Wales University for their Semifinal opponent.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Sharks took an early 1-0 lead behind senior midfielder Kashka Gammon's (Nashua, N.H.) ninth goal of the year just 4:26 into the contest. Junior forward Mikayla Elliott (Lowell, Mass.) threaded a through ball between the Saints back line and Gammon did the rest with a low shot to the right side of the goal.
- After allowing two shots in the opening six minute of play, Emmanuel settled down and only conceded one shot the remainder of the half and ended up outshooting the Sharks, 5-3 in the stanza.
- Emmanuel's best scoring chance in the first half came on a direct kick taken by sophomore midfielder Natalie Dash (East Hampton, Conn.) the just sailed wide of the net around the 21 minute marker.
- Trailing by a goal, the Saints pressed forward in the second half for the equalizer but the Sharks defense held strong despite allowing EC to again outshoot them by a 9-4 margin in the half.
- The Saints had several chances down the stretch including five corner kicks but could not get one past senior keeper Casey Halle (Watertown, Mass.).
- With less than six minutes to play, Emmanuel's best scoring opportunity of the day came when junior forward Kayla Generis (Wethersfield, Conn.) was able to get behind the Simmons back line on the right side and fire a low shot towards the far post. Halle made a diving save to her right and was able to hang on to the ball on the ground preventing any rebound opportunity.
- With 42 seconds to play, Simmons put the game away on junior midfielder Ciara Forde's (Quincy, Mass.) 10th goal of the season to account for the 2-0 result.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Saints held an advantage in total shots at 14-7 and corner kicks at 7-1.
- Earlier in the season, Simmons also netted an early first half goal against the Saints at Clemente Field, scoring 3:06 into the game back on September 16 when the teams played to a 1-1 draw.
- Dash led all players with five shots.
- This was the sixth meeting between the Fenway neighbors in the GNAC playoffs with Simmons now holding a 4-2 lead in the series including wins in the last three meetings.
- Halle finished the game with three saves to earn the shutout for her 10th win and fourth shutout of the campaign.
- EC sophomore Alexis Gawron (South Hadley, Mass.) made three saves for the Saints to finish the year with a 7-6 record in net.
UP NEXT
- The Sharks will take on the winner of Albertus Magnus and Johnson & Wales on Tuesday, October 31.
- Emmanuel wraps the 2017 campaign with an overall record of 11-8-1.
THANK YOU!
- The Emmanuel Women's Soccer program would like to thank all of its loyal supporters and fans for their support this season.
- A big thank you as well to seniors Emily Schwartz (Barrington, R.I.), Emily David (Uniondale, N.Y.) and Victoria LaRoche (Hudson, Mass.) for four great years with the program.