COLCHESTER, Vt. - Junior Erin Rutherford (Ashburnham, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season and also tallied an assist, both of which came in the first half, to lead the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College women's soccer team to a 2-1 road victory over Saint Michael's College on Wednesday evening.
 

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UP NEXT:

• Saint Anselm is back home this weekend on Saturday, September 30th when the University of New Haven comes to Melucci Field for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

 

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Score: Saint Anselm 2, Saint Michael's 1
Records: Saint Anselm (4-1-3, 3-0-0 Northeast-10); Saint Michael's (2-4-2, 0-4-0 Northeast-10)
Location: Colchester, Vt. (Duffy Field)
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Attendance: 204
 

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Saint Michael's got the first good look of the match just over a dozen minutes into play. Kayleigh Crowell recevied a cross on the back post and headed a shot on target, but Saint Anselm freshman goalkeeper Maggie Warner (Saugus, Mass.) was able to make the save.
• The Hawks opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Rutherford got down the left wing for Saint Anselm and served in a left-footed cross that found junior Josie Pecor (Williston, Vt.) in the center of the box. Pecor pushed the ball to the back post to classmate Riley DiGilio (Danvers, Mass.) who's one-time strike found the back of the net to put the Hawks ahead, 1-0.
• Five minutes later, Rutherford joined the scoring party to double the Saint Anselm lead. Senior captain Tara McCleary (Quincy, Mass.) played a ball over the top of the Saint Michael's back line, which Pecor tracked down on the end-line. She then made a pass back to senior Olivia Gotobed (North Andover, Mass.) who's centering service found Rutherford on top of the six-yard box. The junior attacker took a settling touch and smashed a left-footed shot past Purple Knights goalkeeper Juliana Anastopoulos for her first goal of the season.
• Saint Michael's earned multiple corner kicks in the remainder of the first half, but Saint Anselm would go into halftime ahead, 2-0.
• Just under five minutes into the second half, Warner came up with a huge save for the Hawks, denying Emilia McGiffert of the Purple Knights in a one-on-one breakaway situation to keep Saint Michael's off the board.
• Warner was forced to make another save in the 68th minute, stopping a long-distance strike from Bella DelVecchio of Saint Michael's.
• The Purple Knights finally snuck one past Warner in the 74th minute after a great individual play by Crowell. The Saint Michael's forward created just enough space to get a shot off between three Saint Anselm defenders to cut the deficit in half.
• In the 82nd minute, Pecor nearly helped the Hawks regain a two-goal lead, but her left-footed effort from outside the box bounced off the cross-bar.
• The Hawks were able to see out the remaining time and earn their fourth consecutive victory to remain unbeaten in Northeast-10 conference play.

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Saint Anselm outshot Saint Michael's 12-9 in the game, while also holding a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Purple Knights had seven corner-kicks in the match, while the Hawks had two.
• Warner recorded four saves in goal for the Hawks, while Anastopoulos tallied five saves in goal for the Purple Knights.
• Rutherford scored her first goal of the season for Saint Anselm, while DiGilio scored her second of the campaign.
• Rutherford also recorded her second assist of the season, while Gotobed and Pecor each recorded their first assists of the season for the Hawks.
• This marked the 41st all-time meeting between these programs, with the Hawks improving to 26-8-7 overall.

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