Rookie Vecchiarello Nets Two in Warrior Debut; Women's Soccer Thumps Molloy, 5-1
SEVEN DIFFERENT WARRIORS RECORD A POINT IN 5-1 ROMP OVER MOLLOY
Links: Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Freshman Alana Vecchiarello (Peabody, Mass.) enjoyed an impressive collegiate debut, netting the first two goals of her career, en route to the Merrimack College women's soccer team's 5-1 season-opening victory against Molloy in Game 4 of the Marriott Kickoff Classic on Saturday afternoon at Martone-Mejail Field.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 5, Molloy 1
Records: Merrimack 1-0 | Molloy 0-1
Location: Martone-Mejail Field| North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
Merrimack needed just two minutes to score the first goal of the game, and that set the stage for what was to come, as the Warriors built a four-goal lead midway through the second half before the Lions finally got on the board in the 71st minute. But Merrimack tallied one last marker – the first career goal for junior Desiree DeLeon (Salem, Mass.) – to round out the Warriors' prolific scoring day on the pitch.
Junior Katie Bresciani (Hopedale, Mass.) opened the scoring in the third minute before sophomore Jenna Savi (Dedham, Mass.) tickled the twine five minutes later, and Vecchiarello buried a beauty into the top-left corner of the net with 20 seconds left in the first half to put the Navy and Gold on top, 3-0, after 45 minutes of play.
Vecchiarello broke free again in the 67th minute and found the back of the net in the 67th minute before Molloy responded with its only goal of the contest from Alicia Mercurio four minute later. DeLeon, however, assured that the Warriors would have the last laugh with her first collegiate tally in the 85th minute to close out the match.
What They Said
Head Coach Gabe Mejail: "It was finally nice to get out there and play a meaningful game after a long preseason. The kids have been chomping at the bit to get going and I think we played a great, all-around game today, in all three zones, so I'm certainly happy for that. But tomorrow is another day and we'll have another tough opponent on our hands in Dowling, so we'll have to wipe the slate clean and go right back after it tomorrow afternoon."
A Closer Look
- Seven different Warriors tallied at least a point on the day, including the first career points from Vecchiarello (2g), DeLeon (1g), and freshman Alyssa Eaton (Hanson, Mass.) (1a).
- Senior Nicole Curtis (Billerica, Mass.) turned aside all four shots she faced and finished with a partial clean sheet, while sophomore Meghan Gulbrandsen (Haverhill, Mass.) logged the final 20:25 of the contest in net for Merrimack
- Molloy keeper Nicole DellaPorta finished with five saves for the visitors
- Merrimack out-attempted the visitors, 15-5, and put 10 of those shots on net, while Molloy finished with four of its five attempts on target
- The Warriors held a slight lead in corner kick opportunities, 6-5
Mejail Honored in Pregame Ceremony
Before the start of the contest, the Athletic Department and the women's soccer team surprised head coach Gabe Mejail with a pregame ceremony to honor the venerable bench boss, who is beginning his fourth decade with the program.
Mejail, who took over the reigns in 1984, is the only coach in the history of Merrimack women's soccer; he has led the team to 29 winning seasons, and the program has qualified for the Northeast-10 Championships every year since the league's inception. Mejail was joined by several alumni from various seasons to honor his era of excellence with the College.
Up Next
Merrimack concludes play in the Marriott Kickoff Classic tomorrow afternoon against Dowling College. First kick from Martone-Mejail Field is set for 3 p.m.
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