NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team ended their regular season on a four-game winning streak, closing out their 2021 slate with a 1-0 victory over the Sharks of Simmons University under the lights of Celentano Field on Thursday evening.
Junior Bridget Rosikiewicz (Naugatuck, Conn.) tallied the lone score of the game for her second career goal. Sophomore Michelle Mecca (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) recorded her third shutout of the season and picked up her eighth career win.
Prior to the start of the match, the women's soccer team honored their seven-member graduating class - Morgan Violette (North Branford, Conn.), Jaidyn Gillette (Putnam, Conn.), Jordan Kikosicki (East Haven, Conn.), Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.), Haley Andrews (Prospect, Conn.), Tory Searles (Shelton, Conn.) and Rosikiewicz - for their hard work and dedication to the program over their tenure with the Falcons.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Albertus Magnus 1 | Simmons 0
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (11-5, 9-4 GNAC) | Simmons (2-14-1, 2-10-1 GNAC)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Sharks came out firing to start off the half, ripping off the first shot of the match three minutes into the contest. Mecca was not phased in goal, denying the scoring attempt by the Sharks and keeping the score knotted at zero.
Shortly after, Albertus retaliated on offense by recording back-to-back shot attempts from Violette and Kikosicki. Violette fired the first Falcon shot of the night, but it was saved by Sharks goaltender, Maria Nothacker. A minute later, Kikosicki sent a shot attempt whizzing towards the uprights, but Nothacker repelled the shot and kept the match even.
The teams continued to trade shots until the 24th minute as the Falcons were awarded their first corner kick of the evening. Junior Keegan Riccio (West Haven, Conn.) took the corner and hooked a shot into the press of bodies by the net. With the ball bouncing through the chaos, Rosikiewicz swooped in and lasered the ball into the upper-left corner of the net for the first score of the game.
The Falcons continued to pressure the Sharks for the remainder of the half, tallying seven shots and three corner kicks, and denying the Sharks any opportunity to mount the first-half comeback.
Albertus picked up right where they left off in the second when Andrews took control of the ball two minutes into the stanza and ripped a shot that went just wide of the goalposts. The Sharks countered back by, firing off three shots in quick succession, but Mecca was unperturbed, snaring all three shots and preventing the visitors from tying the match.
The teams continued to trade shots for the remainder of the match, but the combination of Mecca's unparalleled net-minding abilities and the Falcons strong defensive unit was too much for the Sharks to overcome, and the hosts walked away with the 1-0 conference victory and their 11th win of the season.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus: Michelle Mecca (W, 8-4): 8 Shots on Goal | 0 Goals-Against | 8 Saves
Simmons: Marita Nothacker (L, 2-11-0): 10 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 9 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Falcons held the edge in shots, out-shooting the Sharks by an 18-12 margin.
- Albertus won the battle on the corners, 5-0.
- Albertus was whistled for two fouls, while the Sharks were whistled for none.
- Simmons tallied nine saves to Albertus' eight.
NOTEWORTHY
- Tonight's game-winning goal was Rosikiewicz's first of her career.
- Coach Wajnowski picked up his 131st career victory.
- Andrews led the offensive attack with four shots, while Ashley Shaw (Milford, Conn.) added three of her own to the Falcon total.
- All three of Shaw's attempts were on goal.
- This is the sixth time that the Falcons have won 11+ matches in a single season under Coach Wajnowski.
UP NEXT
The fifth-seeded women's soccer team will open the GNAC playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 30th against the fourth-seeded Blue Jays of Saint Joseph's (CT) in West Hartford, Conn. Kick-off is set for 7 PM!
