Women's Soccer

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm women's soccer team hosted the American International College Yellow Jackets this afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference play.  On a cold and rainy Saturday, the Hawks came out victorious, claiming a 2-1 win over the Yellow Jackets.  The win lifts the Hawks to 8-8-1 (7-7, NE-10) while the Yellow Jackets fall to 7-9-2 (4-9-2, NE-10).

The Hawks got off to a quick start, taking first possession of the ball, and, just 2:04 into the game, senior Michelle Dickson (Bedford, N.H.) took a hard shot from outside the top of the box, which was saved, but in the slippery conditions, the ball got loose, and fellow senior Heidi Reece (Salem, N.Y.) knocked it in to notch the 20th goal of her career and give the Hawks an early 1-0 lead.  Reece scored her 53rd career point on the play, jumping her up yet another spot to fifth on the Hawks' all-time points list.

The Hawks maintained their lead through the end of the first half, but halfway through the second, at 62:40, junior Cassie Ashwell (Agawam, Mass.) took a corner kick in Hawk territory.  She sent a crossing pass to classmate Samantha Larson (San Jose, Calif.) who netted her first goal of the season at 63:15, knotting the score at one.

Over the next 25 minutes, both teams had some key opportunities, but the defense held firmly.  Two Yellow Jacket fouls just outside the box, one on each side, gave junior Jennifer Pearl (Stoughton, Mass.) two chances to score on free kicks, but the backline was solid, and goalkeeper Kara Potts (Westfield, Mass.) made a spectacular diving save to keep the game tied.  With four minutes remaining in the game, Teresa Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) had a breakaway drive from midfield, but it was broken up by the Yellow Jackets' defense at the top of the box before she could get a shot off.  Less than a minute later, Yellow Jacket Nikki Muhlberg (East Hampton, Conn.) had her own breakaway, but her shot was just wide.

Then, at 87:57, with just over two minutes remaining in the game, freshman Jackie McEvoy (Spring, Tex.) fed Jennifer Pearl a perfect pass at the top of the box, who laced a hard crossing shot up into the top-left corner of the net to score her team-leading sixth goal of the season and give the Hawks a 2-1 victory.

The Hawks outshot the Yellow Jackets, 17-11 and put 11 on target for a .647 shots-on-goal percentage, compared to American International's seven for a .636 percentage.  The Hawks also had the upper hand in corner kicks, taking 13 over the Yellow Jackets' four.  American International's keeper Kara Potts had nine saves in the game, and Saint Anselm's Jacqueline Cooney (Braintree, Mass.) had six.

The Hawks conclude their season at home on Wednesday, October 28th, when they host the Bentley University Falcons in Northeast-10 Conference play beginning at 4:00 pm.  The game will give the Hawks their final opportunity to clinch a bid to the Northeast-10 playoffs beginning Sunday, November 1st.