MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's soccer has secured its spot in the Northeast-10 Conference postseason after downing Southern Connecticut State University by a 1-0 score on Wednesday.

The Hawks move to 9-6-1 on the season and 5-6-1 in conference matches while the Owls drop to 7-6-3 overall and 5-4-3 in NE10 play.

Saint Anselm enters the postseason as the fifth seed in the NE10 while Southern Connecticut State will be the fourth seed. The Hawks and Owls will battle on Sunday, Oct. 30 from Jess Dow Field in New Haven, Conn. in the conference quarterfinals with the opening kickoff slated for 1 p.m.

Saint Anselm is making consecutive appearances in the conference postseason for the first time since the 2008 and 2009 seasons. For the second consecutive season, the Hawks will be traveling to the team who they concluded the regular season against.

"The resilience this group has demonstrated to stay together and find result after result down the stretch has been remarkable." said head coach Joel Bancroft. "This group deserves every accolade and opportunity that they have earned."

The Owls controlled the pace of play in the opening minutes but Saint Anselm responded and held a 9-6 edge in shots through the opening 45 minutes.

Sophomore Erin Rutherford (Ashburnham, Mass.) registered the strongest scoring chance for either side in the 24th minute of the first half as she sent a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that Owls goalkeeper, Abigail Allen, got a fingertip on. The deflection bounced off the left post but stayed out of the goal.

Junior Olivia Gotobed (North Andover, Mass.) added a chance in the 29th minute that would've beaten Allen but a Southern Connecticut State defender blocked the shot attempt.

After strong play in the attacking end for the Hawks, the Owls attempted to clear their 18-yard box. However, sophomore Allison Silverstein (Concord, N.H.) managed to block the clear and fired a left-footed shot from just inside the box for her first collegiate goal in the 73rd minute.

The Owls upped the pace with less than 20 minutes to play and put five shots on goal in that span. Kelsey Burr and Alexie Rosado posted the best chances to score for the Owls but senior goalkeeper Kate Macaluso (Malverne, N.Y.) made the stops on clean shot attempts.

In the match, Southern Connecticut State held a slight 18-16 edge in shot attempts and a 9-6 advantage in shots on goal. The Hawks were awarded seven corner kicks to just one for the Owls.

Macaluso improved to 3-1-0 on the season following the nine-save performance while Allen made five saves on six shots on goal. That is Macaluso's third win of the season and her second clean sheet.