Women's Soccer Routs Mitchell

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's soccer team blanked visiting Mitchell College, 8-0, in a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) clash at Leary Field Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Blazers rise to 9-4 on the season, and 3-1 in the NECC, while the Mariners sink to 0-3 in conference and 1-7 overall.

The Blazers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, capitalizing on an opportunity in the third minute. Elms senior Jacqueline Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) pursued a ball down the sideline and lifted a cross to the front of the net, where classmate Brie Voight (Springfield, Mass.) knocked a pass to senior Angelina Estrada (Springfield, Mass.), who ripped a shot of the inside of the far post to stake the Blazers to a 1-0 lead.

Just over four minutes later, Soucia served up another cross from the right sideline, finding Voight in the middle of the box, and she fired a shot past Mitchell sophomore keeper Jordan Lohneiss (West Hartford, Conn.) to push the Blazers ahead 2-0. In the 20^th minute, junior Danielle Asklar (Berlin, Conn.) launched a from midfield towards the net, landing at the feet of Soucia, who dribbled through the Mariners defense and beat Lohneiss low to extend the lead to 3-0.

With 21:08 left in the first half, Soucia played a ball into traffic in front of the net, and Elms junior Kelsey Shea (Belchertown, Mass.) was able to tuck a shot inside the post to give the Blazers a 4-0 advantage. In the 28^th minute, freshman Shannon Ryan (Leeds, Mass.) potted her first collegiate goal, converting off a long feed from senior Silvana Tellerico (Southington, Conn.), and then junior Jordan Bates (Springfield, Mass.) one-timed a service from junior Gigi Thibault (South Hadley, Mass.) into the back of the net with 13:51 on the clock to hand Elms a 6-0 lead heading into halftime.

Just over six minutes into the second half, Soucia lofted a cross from the sideline towards goal, finding Voight in front, but Lohneiss denied Voight's initial attempt. Lohneiss was unable to control the rebound, allowing Voight to deposit the loose ball into the back of the goal. The Blazers delivered their final strike in the 87^th minute as Soucia launched a ball from midfield, which was corralled by junior Shannon Denault (Chicopee, Mass.) and she placed a shot past a charging Lohneiss to send Elms to the 8-0 win.

The Blazers dominated the Mariners in the shot column, 34-3, during the contest. Elms sophomore keepers Rebecca Molin (West Hartford, Conn.) and Antriese Suarez (Amherst, Mass.) each recorded a save in a combined shutout effort, while Lohneiss made 11 saves in the loss.

The Blazers will return to the pitch Sunday for a non-conference match at Bates College at 2:00 p.m. Mitchell hosts Southern Vermont in NECC action Monday at 1:00 p.m.

ELMS SOCCER