WOMEN'S SOCCER NIPPED BY ST. JOSEPH (CT), 1-0
Sept. 21, 2011
West Hartford, Conn. - Senior midfielder Stacey Rutledge (Meriden, Conn.) netted the game's lone goal to lift the St. Joseph College women's soccer team past Emmanuel College, 1-0, Wednesday afternoon at Saint Joseph College Athletic Complex. With the win the Blue Jays improve to 5-2 on the year, 3-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference while the loss drops the Saints to 6-2 overall, 2-2 in GNAC play.
After a scoreless first half of the play that saw the Blue Jays outshoot EC, 16-4, Rutledge was able to break through the Emmanuel back line and put home her third goal of the year just 39 seconds into the second half to give the host squad a 1-0 lead. She was assisted by sophomore forward Patricia Nolan (Portland, Conn.).
The Saints would have time to answer but were unable to break down the Blue Jays defensive unit or beat senior goalkeeper Holly Mirabella (Seymour, Conn.) with any of their shot attempts. The senior finished the game with six saves.
With the win, Mirabella also notched her fifth shutout of the season and has now not surrendered a goal in over 187 minutes of action. For the Saints, junior keeper Jessica D'Ottavio (Pawling, N.Y.) was also impressive between the pipes keeping Emmanuel in the action throughout the contest by posting 14 saves on the afternoon.
The Blue Jays outshot the Saints 28-8 in the contest and attempted eight corner kicks compared to Emmanuel's three.
Both squads return to the pitch on Saturday, September 24 in more GNAC action when the Saints host Suffolk University at 3:00 p.m. at Roberto Clemente field while the Blue Jays entertain Anna Maria at 1:00 p.m.