MANCHESTER, N.H. – Kendra Bonczar (Milford, N.H.) did it again. The freshman notched her fourth game-winning goal of the season in the 101st minute to lift the Saint Anselm College women's soccer team to Saturday afternoon's 2-1 double-overtime victory against Le Moyne College in the regular-season finale for both teams on Senior Day.
The Hawks, who had already clinched their first Northeast-10 Championship berth since 2009 coming into the match, extended their unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2) as they wrapped up the regular season at 8-6-3 overall, including 7-5-2 in Northeast-10 play. The seven conference victories are the most for Saint Anselm since it posted eight league W's during the '09 campaign. The Dolphins close out the year at 5-10-2, 3-9-2 NE-10.
Saint Anselm must now await the winner of Saturday's late afternoon match between American International College and Franklin Pierce University to untangle the seeding web for the Northeast-10 Championship. An American International victory will give the Hawks the sixth seed and will send them to No. 3 Adelphi University, while a Franklin Pierce win puts the Hawks in the seventh spot and sets up a date with second-seeded AIC.
The four game winners for Bonczar, the team's leading scorer with seven goals for 14 points, are the third most ever in a single season by a Saint Anselm freshman and are already the seventh most all-time in program history.
Bonczar received a ball from senior Siobhan Flaherty (Braintree, Mass.) and made a long run down the right side with a Le Moyne defender before letting go of a shot from a bad angle near the right post. The ball deflected off the midsection of sprawling Dolphins goalkeeper Tori Corsaro before rolling underneath her and into the net to give the Hawks the win just 40 seconds into the second overtime period.
Freshman goalkeeper Cassie Quattropani (East Hartford, Conn.) made three saves to improve to 5-1-1 on the year, while Corsaro stopped four shots.
Saint Anselm outshot Le Moyne, 22-12, including 12-5 in the second stanza, and held a 15-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Hawks broke a scoreless deadlock in the 70th minute when junior Alexa Lucci (Hope, R.I.) sent a pass from the right to classmate Jenna Szostak (Carver, Mass.), who flicked the ball up from the top of the box and sent a volley into the top right corner of the net to make it 1-0.
Le Moyne would tie it with 3:24 to go in regulation when Kate Deasy set up Kelly Ristoff for the equalizer. The Dolphins continued to control play through the first overtime before the Hawks flipped momentum and grabbed the win.
Seniors Flaherty, Amy Millet (Lancaster, Mass.), Emma Furlone (Keene, N.H.) and Maura Kelly (Weymouth, Mass.) were all honored in a ceremony prior to the start of the match.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, Nov. 5 when they hit the road for Northeast-10 quarterfinal action – either at Adelphi or American International. 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.
