SAINTS SWAMP GATORS IN WOMEN'S SOCCER ACTION
Oct. 23, 2008
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Six first half goals, including three in the first thirteen minutes, propelled the Saints to a decisive 8-2 win over Pine Manor College in Thursday's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer match up. With this win, Emmanuel improved to 10-6 on the season and 8-3 in GNAC play, while Pine Manor fell to 3-8-1 overall and 1-8-1 in the conference. The Saints rebounded from two-straight losses earlier in the week, falling to Emerson on Saturday and Norwich on Tuesday.
Emmanuel's junior midfielder Kate McKenna (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke) put the Saints on the board early on a feed from sophomore forward Amber Di Nucci (Assonet, MA/Apponequet) at 4:20. Di Nucci and junior forward Stephanie Levesque (Auburn, MA/Auburn), who returned to action after a mid-season injury, added two goals apiece in the next 28 minutes.
The Di Nucci, Levesque onslaught put Emmanuel up 5-0 with thirteen minutes to play in the opening half. Sophomore Alison DeCarlo (Wilton, CT/Wilton) then added a score less than a minute later, giving the Saints, the second-highest scoring team in the league, more than enough cushion to carry the win.
Pine Manor's freshman Alicia Grenier (Swansea, MA/Joseph Case) notched two second half goals to put her in double digits, with 10 on the season. Jacqueline Sprague (Oxford, MA/Oxford) assisted on the latter of Grenier's goals, marking the second straight game with a point for the sophomore.
Entering the week, Pine Manor's Grenier and Emmanuel's McKenna were part of a four-way tie on the GNAC leader board for tenth in the conference in goals at eight. Di Nucci was tied for fifth with 11 on the season
The Saints tacked on two more goals in the second half. Emmanuel received one on an own goal at 52:52. The second came on a feed from junior Meghan Long (Smithfield, RI), which rookie Melanie Hoffman (Topsham, ME) sent into the back of the net, scoring her 7th goal of the season.
The Saints outshot the Gators, 32-10, in the 90 minutes of action. Emmanuel keeper Laureyn Furtney (Barrington, NH) made 6 saves for the victors, while Pine Manor's Kayla Nielsen stopped 13 Saints' shots on goal. The Gators play their last home game of the season on Saturday at noon against Suffolk, while the Saints travel to Mount Ida for a 1:00 game on Sunday.