MANCHESTER, N.H. – With a pair of first half goals, Saint Anselm took control early in its showdown with top-ranked Saint Rose en route to a 2-0 upset victory. The Hawks dominated nearly every facet of the game Saturday in front of a big crowd at Melucci Field.
It was the first loss of the season for Saint Rose, which drops to 10-1-1 on the year and 6-1-1 in Northeast-10 Conference play. Saint Anselm's first program win over a No. 1-ranked team earns them a big three points in the league race, upping its season tally to 5-2-3 overall and 3-2-3 in the NE-10.
Sophomore Kendra Bonczar (Milford, N.H.) opened the scoring on a perfect cross off a Rachel Gillies (Auburn, Mass.) corner kick in the 19th minute. Bonczar took the entry from the right corner and headed the perfect crack near-post for her second goal of the season.
Just 12 minutes later, Callie Millet (Lancaster, Mass.) found the ball at her feet after another Gillies corner was punched out to the 15-yard mark. Millet one-timed it through the box and netted her first goal of the year in the top right corner to put the Hawks up 2-0 early.
Saint Rose took to the offensive early in the second half with some spirited play, but the composed Saint Anselm backs played very stout and sure defense to weather the storm.
Late in the second half, sophomore Cassie Quattropani (East Hartford, Conn.) came up huge on a corner sent through the box, first deflecting the initial strike, then recovering to save a hard chip shot by a Saint Rose forward to maintain the shutout. Quattropani picked up five saves in the win and improved her season record to 4-2-3 overall.
Despite losing much of the possession game, the Golden Knights had one more corner attempt and outshot Saint Anselm 18-16, with the Hawks owning a 6-5 edge in on-goal attempts.
Saint Anselm will return to action with a Wednesday afternoon showdown against intrastate NE-10 rival Franklin Pierce. Game time at Melucci Field is set for 3:30 p.m.
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