Freshmen Firsts Help No. 23 Women's Soccer Best Bentley, 3-0
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.- The No. 23 Merrimack
women's soccer team earned their sixth-straight win of the season,
downing Bentley 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field. A pair of
rookies tallied their first collegiate goals in the win. The
Warriors improve to 6-1-1 overall and 6-0-0 in the Northeast-10.
The Falcons fall to 0-5-2 on the year and 0-4-2 in the league.
After a scoreless first half, the Warriors netted the game's
first goal with 21 minutes remaining in the match. Jordan Schnopp
(Dalton, Mass.) tallied her first collegiate goal when
Marissa DePaolo's
(Milford, Mass.) pass was deflected right into Schnopp's
path. Schnopp took the goalkeeper on one-on-one and blasted the
ball past her and into the net.
Just minutes later, another Warrior notched her first career
goal. Freshman Jackie Sullivan
(North Andover, Mass.) knocked in a rebound off of a
header from Jessica Peacock
(Hopedale, Mass.) to put the home side up 2-0.
Peacock capped off the scoring with a stunning shot off of a
free kick. Merrimack earned a free kick 35 yards away from goal
with less than eight minutes on the clock. Peacock stepped up and
sent a bending ball into the net for her third goal of the season
and the Warriors' third of the game.
Kiley
Horne (Scituate, Mass.) played 84 minutes between the
pipes for Merrimack and made two saves en route to earning her
sixth win on the year. Freshman Nicole Curtis
(Billerica, Mass.) made her first collegiate appearance at
goalkeeper for the Warriors, coming on to play six minutes in a
relief effort. Horne and Curtis combined for the clean sheet.
Merrimack held a 12-9 advantage in shots on the day. The Falcons
owned the edge in corner kicks, 6-3.
"We started the game flat but we picked up the intensity in the
second half. The team really turned it around and played well in
the second half," said head coach Gabe Mejail.
