MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Kendra Bonczar (Milford, N.H.) scored a pair of goals and sophomore Rachel Gillies (Auburn, Mass.) had a hand in two more as the Saint Anselm College women's soccer team dismissed Saint Michael's College, 4-0, Wednesday afternoon at Melucci Field.
The Hawks, who have now won three of their last four, improve to 4-3-1 on the season, including 3-2-0 in Northeast-10 play. The Purple Knights sink to 0-8-0, 0-5-0 NE-10.
Saint Anselm nearly grabbed a 1-0 lead early in the 16th minute when Gillies had the serve off her corner kick blocked back out to the flank, but she re-served the ball into the box where senior Amy Millet (Lancaster, Mass.) headed the ball just over the crossbar.
Gillies would ensure the Hawks drew first blood in the 23rd minute as a teammate's pass across the box from left to right deflected off a defender and she tracked it down on the right side of the box before rifling a high shot into the left corner of the net.
The Hawks almost doubled their lead with just 28 seconds left in the opening half when junior Alexa Lucci (Hope, R.I.) sent a through-ball up the middle of the field for freshman Nicole Rust (Hooksett, N.H.), whose shot from the right side of the box was punched away as Saint Michael's goalkeeper Aubrey Ouellet sprawled to her left to make the save.
Gillies helped the hosts finally grab a 2-0 lead midway through the 59th minute when her left-to-right corner service to the far post was cleared by the head of a Saint Michael's defender, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar and straight down before caroming over the goal line.
Senior Maura Kelly (Weymouth, Mass.) came up with a great defensive stop in the 67th minute to retain the Hawks' two-goal cushion. A Saint Michael's service from the right flank came bouncing through the box and toward a Purple Knight forward until Kelly maneuvered around her and slid to boot the ball out of play.
That proved big for the Hawks, who stretched their lead to 3-0 in the 83rd minute when Bonczar was credited with a goal after her service from the right flank deflected off a Saint Michael's defender in the box and into the right side of the net.
Bonczar polished off the victory with seven seconds on the clock when she received a pass and dribble up field and by a defender before beating Ouellet with a shot that made it 4-0.
Freshman goalkeeper Cassie Quattropani (East Hartford, Conn.) played the first half in net and did not face a shot, but earned her first collegiate victory. Junior Gabriella Primera (Kennett Square, Pa.) made a pair of saves in the second half. Ouellet stopped four shots for Saint Michael's.
Saint Anselm outshot Saint Michael's, 14-6, including 6-0 in the opening stanza. The Hawks also held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. when they play host to Southern Connecticut State University at Melucci. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
