#18 Women's Soccer Scores Late to Down Southern NH, 2-1
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The #18 Merrimack women's soccer team remained unbeaten on the season with a 2-1 victory over Southern NH Saturday afternoon at the newly-named Martone-Mejail Field. The Warriors elevate their record to 10-0-0 overall and 8-0-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Penmen fall to 5-5-0 on the year and 3-4 in league matches.
Danielle Dion (North Grosvenordale, CT) netted an early goal to give Merrimack a quick 1-0 advantage. Dion pressured a defender and forced her to play the ball back to the goalkeeper. The sophomore intercepted the pass and sent a one-time shot rolling into the cage for her third of the fall in the fifth minute.
Emily Donahue knotted the match at 1-1 in the 23rd minute as she unleashed a strike from outside the box on the left side. Donahue's left-footed bid snuck into the near post to pull Southern NH even with the hosts.
The two teams were locked at 1-1 after 45 minutes of action. The Warriors owned a 4-3 edge in shots in the first half while also earning five corner kicks and conceding two.
Merrimack had numerous chances to tally the go-ahead goal in the second frame. Sarah Coakley (Medway, MA) redirected a header by Jessica Peacock (Hopedale, MA) but the attempt bounced off of the right post.
Jamie Alnwick (Groton, MA) also had a shot ricochet off of the crossbar in the second period. Alnwick lofted a one-time shot from outside the penalty box that caromed off of the top of the crossbar and over the endline.
In the 84th minute, Melissa Garabedian (Salem, MA) dribbled down the left wing to the endline before sliding a low cross into the box. Garabedian's service pin-balled inside the six-yard box and fell to Alnwick who tucked the ball into the right corner to restore the Warriors' one-goal gap.
Merrimack concluded the match with a 12-5 advantage in shots, including a 5-1 margin in shots on goal. The Warriors also earned all five corner kicks in the second half, finishing with a 10-2 edge.
Kiley Horne (Scituate, MA) claimed her 10th win of the season in goal for Merrimack.
"We played a great game start to finish today. The early goal was definitely a huge was to start the match," said head coach Gabe Mejail.
The Warriors' next match is on the road as they will travel to face Franklin Pierce in a Northeast-10 Conference battle October 4.
