Women's Soccer Held Off By MCLA, 1-0
WOMEN'S SOCCER HELD OFF BY MCLA, 1-0
CHICOPEE, MA, Oct. 25, 2006 - Elms College sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Donnelly (Florence, MA) stopped eight shots, but MCLA freshman midfielder Erin Bourque (Amesbury, MA) netted the game's only goal in the 74th minute to lift the visiting Trailblazers to a 1-0 win over the Blazers in Wednesday's non-conference women's soccer game at Leary Field.
Elms College lost for just the third time in its last 16 games to fall to 13-6 overall. MCLA, meanwhile, snapped an eight-game losing streak and improved to 4-11-1 overall.
Bourque's deposited junior midfielder Lisa Merrill's (East Windsor, NJ) corner kick past Donnelly from right outside the goal-line for what stood as the eventual game-winner.
Following a scoreless opening half, both teams had quality scoring opportunities during the final 45 minutes of the match.
MCLA freshman goalkeeper Ashley Collins (Rochester, MA) robbed Elms College freshman forward Krystyna Gagne (Methuen, MA) of sure goals with diving stops off breakaways by Gagne in both the 55th and 63rd minutes to keep the game scoreless.
Donnelly made a brilliant stop of her own in the 70th minute when she leaped to tip senior midfielder Christine Barna's (Troy, NY) shot off the crossbar to preserve the scoreless deadlock.
Collins finished with 10 saves to earn the shutout for MCLA in the victory.
Elms College, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament, opens up play when it hosts No. 8 Wheelock College on Sunday, October 29 at Leary Field. Game time is 1:00 p.m.