NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Saint Anselm College women's soccer team wrapped up the regular season with a 3-1 win over Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) on Wednesday night to secure the fifth seed in the Northeast-10 Conference postseason. The Hawks finished 5-4-2 in conference play, while the Owls concluded the year with a 3-3-4 league record.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm will travel to Rindge, N.H. to face the fourth-seeded Ravens of Franklin Pierce University for the NE10 Quarterfinals. The game is scheduled for Sunday, November 5th with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff from Sodexo Field.
Score: Saint Anselm 3, Southern Conn. St. 1
Records: Saint Anselm (7-5-5, 5-4-2 NE10); Southern Conn. St. (5-6-5, 3-4-4 NE10)
Location: New Haven, Conn. (Jess Dow Field)
Date: Wednesday, November 1
Attendance: 121
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Allison Silverstein (Concord, N.H.) gave the Hawks an early 1-0 lead just under five minutes into the game. Silverstein collected the ball at the top of the 18-yard box after a failed clearing attempt from the Owls defense and fired a left-footed shot past the diving Owls goalkeeper, Abby Aughe, to take a quick one-goal advantage.
- At the 18:35 mark, Victoria Vera responded for Southern Conn. St., evening the score at 1-1 after tapping the ball into the Hawks net off a centering pass from Taylor Henning.
- Approximately six minutes later, senior Olivia Gotobed (North Andover, Mass.) netted her second goal of the season to put Saint Anselm back in the lead. Junior Riley DiGilio (Danvers, Mass.) sent a lofted cross into the box where Gotobed was able to head the ball into the bottom left corner. The Hawks recorded four shot attempts near the end of the half, but would take just the 2-1 advantage heading into halftime.
- Saint Anselm started the second half by ripping three shots on target in the opening ten minutes, forcing three saves from Aughe. In the 62nd minute, freshman goalkeeper Maggie Warner (Saugus, Mass.) registered her first save of the night, denying a shot from Aimee Girard.
- The Hawks continued to push their attack, recording 4-of-8 shots on frame. Junior Josie Pecor (Williston, Vt.) cemented the 3-1 victory for Saint Anselm with her score in the 86th minute of the final half.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm outshot Southern Conn. St. 21-8 and held a 12-4 advantage in shots on target.
- The Hawks earned four corner kicks in the match, while the Owls had two.
- Warner made three saves in net for Saint Anselm and allowed just one goal, while her counterpart Aughe tallied nine saves and allowed three goals.
- Pecor leads the team with six goals on the season, while Silverstein notched her third of the season and Gotobed scored her second.
- Tonight's victory marks the 50th career win for head coach Joel Bancroft since taking over the program in 2017. The sixth year head coach currently ranks third in program history in coaching wins at Saint Anselm.
- For the third consecutive season, Saint Anselm will play in the NE10 postseason. The Hawks advanced to the semifinal round last year after defeating Southern Conn. St., 2-1, but fell to The College of Saint Rose in the Semifinals.
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