Warriors Battle Molloy, Dowling in Weekend Tournament Action to Start 2012
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Heading to Long Island to officially begin the 2012 season, the Merrimack women's soccer team opens the year against Molloy on Friday (Aug. 31) in the first round of the Dowling College Tournament. First whistle is set for 4 p.m.
The Warriors, who will be bidding for their 29th consecutive winning season this fall, return to the pitch after another impressive 2011 season under 29th-year head coach Gabe Mejail. Merrimack posted a 16-4-2 overall record while going 11-2-1 in Northeast-10 Conference action and also went undefeated at home (9-0).
Mejail returns his four leading scorers from last season, junior forward Danielle Dion(Grosvenordale, Conn.), junior forward Jenna Zechner (Billerica, Mass.), sophomore Katie Bresciani (Hopedale, Mass.) and senior Jenn Pino (North Andover, Mass.) for 2012. Zechner led all players with 19 points on eight goals and three assists, while Dion ranked second with 18 points (8g, 2a). Bresciani represents the third double-digit scorer from last season after tallying 11 points on four markers and three helpers.
The Warriors will look to fill the void in net left by graduating senior Kiley Horne, who was dominant between the pipes en route to posting a goals-against average of 1.09 to compliment an .834 save percentage. Mejail should have solid options in junior returner Nicole Curtis (Billerica, Mass.), who saw limited action last year, along with freshman Meghan Gulbrandsen (Haverhill, Mass.).
The Lions went an even 9-9-1 in 2011, but bring back lead scorer Allison Sloper. The junior midfielder led Molloy with a whopping 30 points on a team-high 12 goals and six assists. Behind her, senior Nicole Valentine was the second-leading scorer from last year's club, potting seven goals with four assists for a total of 18 points.
Sophomore Nicole DellaPorta saw the bulk of the action last year, posting a 1.37 GAA and an impressive .803 save percentage in nearly 1,600 minutes in net. As a team, the Lions both averaged and allowed 1.63 goals per game last season.
On Sunday (Sept. 2), the Warriors will face tournament host Dowling with first whistle set for 2 p.m.
The Golden Lions are coming off a school-record 13-5-3 campaign in 2011, winning their first-ever East Coast Conference Tournament while appearing in the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history. Sophomore Melissa Gugliemo returns in the net after recording 7 shutouts in her rookie campaign. ECC First Team selections Dominique DeFelice and Erika Krumholz return to lead the Dowling backline, which held nine teams scoreless in 2011.
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