Women's Soccer Blanked at No. 25 New Haven, 1-0
WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The Merrimack women's soccer team saw a three-game winning streak come to an end, as the Warriors were blanked, 1-0, against No. 25 New Haven in a pivotal Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at Kayo Field.
By virtue of the defeat, the Warriors – who have been ranked as high as fourth in the latest NSCAA East Regional Rankings – fall to 7-3 on the season with a 5-2 mark in league play. The Chargers, meanwhile, improve to 7-2-1 with a 4-2-1 conference record.
After both teams' back lines kept the offense off the board in the first half, Nicole Pacapelli untied the match with the game's only goal, an unassisted tally in the 64th minute, and that would be all that New Haven would need as the home side held on for the 1-0 decision.
Merrimack maintained a 19-16 advantage in shot attempts in the first half and mustered nine shots on net, but despite reeling 13 shot attempts in the second stanza, the Warriors only put two of them on target, as New Haven goalkeeper Natasha Purchia earned the clean sheet with 11 saves in 90 minutes.
Junior goalkeeper Nicole Curtis (Billerica, Mass.) recorded nine stops in net for the Warriors but wound up with the tough loss after allowing Pacapelli's only goal of the game.
Both Pacapelli and Merrimack sophomore Sarah Coakley (Medway, Mass.) recorded five shots on net, while the latter led all players with 10 shot attempts over the course of the match.
"Unfortunately, we had some chances today, but we just couldn't finish on the offensive side of the field," head coach Gabe Mejajil said afterward. "All in all, I liked our effort against obviously a very good team, one who we could possibly see in the playoffs, but we'll have to work on finding more consistency and not having to rely on one or two players on offense as we head into the second half of the season."
In total, Merrimack owned a 32-26 edge in shot attempts while New Haven held an 11-10 advantage in shots on goal, while the Chargers also held a 10-4 lead in corner kicks.
Next up, the Warriors return home for back-to-back home games starting with another NE-10 showdown on Wednesday (Oct. 3) night against Saint Anselm. First whistle from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 7 p.m.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack athletics, check back online at www.merrimackathletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter @MC_Athletics.
