Women's Soccer Blasts Bay Path

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's soccer team used a first-half hat trick from junior Brie Voight (Springfield, Mass.) to cruise to a 6-0 victory over visiting Bay Path University in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) contest at Leary Field Tuesday night. The Blazers improve to 13-2-1 on the season, and 7-0 in conference play, while Bay Path drops to 3-4 in the NECC, and 7-6 overall. The match was the Blazers "Pink Out" match, honoring Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The Blazers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Voight netted her first goal of the day, knocking home across from junior Mackenzie LaRochelle (Chicopee, Mass.) in the third minute of action to hand Elms the 1-0 lead. At the 14:19 mark of the opening half, the Blazers added to their lead as Voight tucked a pass from the far post to the front of the goal where junior Angelina Estrada (Springfield, Mass.) delivered the finish to the back of the net, making it a 2-0 game.

Less than three minutes later, junior Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) gathered a loose ball and curled a cross towards the net where Voight provided the header deflection to beat Bay Path freshman keeper Caitlyn Esposito (East Haven, Conn.) and build a 3-0 advantage. In the 27^th minute, sophomore Kelsey Shea (Belchertown, Mass.) launched a pass into the Wildcat box which Voight chased down and beat Esposito on a breakaway to give Elms the 4-0 lead.

The Blazers carried their momentum into the second half, adding to the scoreboard in the 53^rd minute as junior Silvana Tellerico (Southington, Conn.) placed a pass through the Wildcat defense, finding LaRochelle at the far post for her fifth goal of the season. Elms wrapped up the onslaught with 6:57 remaining when freshman Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) lofted a 25-yarder over the reach of Esposito to send the Blazers to the 6-0 victory.

Elms controlled the shot column, 22-6, during the contest. Elms freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Molin (West Hartford, Conn.) set a new Elms single-season record with her 12^th shutout of the season, making four saves in the win. Esposito stopped a match-high 10 shots for Bay Path.

"I thought we played really well from the start," said Elms College Head Coach Sean Milbier. "We knew we had to come out fast and get one in early against [Bay Path], and we did that. We did a great job finishing today, we are always going to have dangerous opportunities, and it's matter of putting [the ball] in the back of the net, and I think we scored some really nice goals today. Today was the best our bench has played this season. They did a great job playing within themselves, doing their job, fulfilling their role, and I'm very proud of the way our bench played. We are closing the season on the road, so we need to just keep working hard in training, keep showing up in the matches, and keep playing our game."

The Blazers return to the pitch with a non-conference road trip to Mount Holyoke College Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The Wildcats host Mitchell College in NECC action Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

ELMS SOCCER