MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's soccer team, who received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II national poll, suffered their first loss in seven games on Friday afternoon at the hands of Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference play. The Hawks fell to the Falcons by a final score of 1-0, but are still tied for fourth place in the conference standings with two league games remaining in the regular season.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm travels to Amherst, N.Y. for its final non-conference game of the season on Wednesday, October 30th against Daemen at 11:00 a.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 0, Bentley 1
Records: Saint Anselm (4-3-7, 2-2-4 NE10); Bentley (5-3-6, 2-2-4 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Melucci Field)
Date: Friday, October 25th, 2024
Attendance: 210
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior Riley DiGilio (Danvers, Mass.) put the first shot of the game on target for Saint Anselm in the fourth minute of action, but Bentley goalkeeper Claire Ewen made her first save of the day.
- The Falcons generated the next couple of quality scoring chances shortly after with Bridget Gleason forcing a save out of Hawks freshman goalkeeper Samantha Swidorski (Woodbury, Minn.). In the 13th minute, Ryenne Feeney fired a shot off the cross-bar for Bentley as the game remained without a goal.
- After two shots by the Hawks were blocked, the Falcons came down to the other end and scored the opening goal of the game. Gabby Vachon served a cross from the right wing into the box that found Abi Hennessey, who tapped it in at the back post to give Bentley a 1-0 advantage in the 23rd minute.
- Saint Anselm took over offensively for the remainder of the first half. The Hawks rattled off nine straight shot attempts with DiGilio and junior Zarina Pinto (Groveland, Mass.) putting strikes on frame, but Ewen made two more stops as the Falcons maintained their lead at halftime.
- Freshman Kaitlyn LeBrun (Natick, Mass.) put the first shot of the second half on goal for the Hawks, but Ewen was up to the task and made another save.
- Bentley then started to pick things up again about 60 minutes into the match. The Falcons produced three more shots, two of which came from Hennessey, and three corner kicks within an eight minute span, but they were unable to extend their lead.
- Saint Anselm controlled the pace of play over the final 20 minutes of the match. The Hawks sent numbers forward and spent a lot of time at the attacking end. That led to a great chance in the 72nd minute, but the shot by junior Emma Catanzarite (East Longmeadow, Mass.) hit the left post.
- The Hawks generated eight more shots and also earned three late corner kicks in the final five minutes, but were unable to find the equalizer as the Falcons held on for the 1-0 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a dominant 25-9 advantage in total shot attempts as well as a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
- The Hawks had five corner kicks in the match, while the Falcons had four.
- Bentley was called for 14 fouls compared to six called on Saint Anselm. There were no cards issued in the game.
- Hennessey scored the lone goal of the game for Bentley off an assist from Vachon in the first half.
- DiGilio led Saint Anselm with a single game career-high eight shot attempts, three of which came on goal.
- Swidorski made two saves in goal for the Hawks. Ewen made six saves in goal for Bentley and earned the shutout.
- This marked the 37th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Bentley. The Hawks are now 20-12-5 against the Falcons in the series that began in 1991.
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