BOSTON, Mass. - The sixth-seeded Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team kicked off the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament with a spectacular 2-1 quarterfinal victory over the third-seeded Saints of Emmanuel (Mass.) College on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field.
Erina Ismaili (Middlebury, Conn.) led the Falcons' attack with a dominating performance, as the junior forward netted both goals for the Falcons. Graduate student Jordan Kikosicki (East Haven, Conn.) and senior Keegan Riccio (West Haven, Conn.) each tallied assists for the blue-and-white.
In goal, Amy Stevens (Lincoln, R.I.) put together her best match of the season, as the freshman keeper made a season and career-high 12 saves in net, including nine saves in the second half, to preserve the Falcons' victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 2 | Emmanuel (Mass.) 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (9-5-4) | Emmanuel (Mass.) (13-3-3)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Following a Saints' foul, Riccio took the free kick and sent a lofted ball toward the goal, but Riccio's strike hit the left upright of the bar and deflected back into the goal mouth, where Ismaili sent home her eighth goal of the year to put the visitors on top, 1-0.
- The Saints responded seven minutes later, as Sarah Dullaghan netted the equalizer in the 11th minute to knot the score at 1-1.
- Albertus answered immediately with what proved to be the game-winner just 26 seconds later to regain the lead at 2-1. Kikosicki played a through-ball to a streaking Ismaili on the right wing. The speedster got behind the Saints and deposited her second goal of the half to give the Falcons the lead for good.
- The Saints would go on to outshoot the Falcons by a 5-3 margin over the remainder of the first half, but stellar goaltending from Stevens and tight defense from the Albertus squad kept the hosts at bay, and the teams transitioned into the halftime break, with the blue-and-white holding the 2-1 lead.
- Out of the break, Victoria Jainchill (Simsbury, Conn.) got the Falcons' party started with a shot at the 54 minute-mark that Saints' keeper Sandra Griffith was just able to snare.
- Ismaili aimed at the net again, this time three minutes later, but the shot went wide, holding the score at 2-1.
- The Saints then reeled off five straight shots but were stymied by Stevens, who made three saves in three attempts to preserve the 2-1 advantage.
- The Falcons were able to manage the clock over the final 10 minutes of action, limiting any chance for an equalizer and holding on for the 2-1 upset road win to advance in the GNAC Tournament.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
Albertus - Amy Stevens (W, 9-5-4): 13 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal Against | 12 Saves
Emmanuel (Mass.) - Sandra Griffith (L, 2-3-3): 4 Shots on Goal | 2 Goals-Against | 2 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Saints outshot the Falcons by a 20-8 margin.
- Emmanuel tallied five corner kicks to Albertus' four.
- The blue-and-white made 12 saves to the Saints' two.
- Albertus was called for eight fouls, while the Saints were called for seven.
NOTEWORTHY
- Albertus is now 5-10-3 all-time in the postseason.
- AMC is en route to its fourth semi-final appearance in team history.
- Ismaili recorded her first multi-goal performance of the season.
- Jainchill recorded her ninth multi-shot match of the season.
- The Falcons are now 4-1-2 in their last seven games and have outscored the opposition by a 14-7 margin during that stretch.
- Stevens has a goals-against average of 1.00 during her last seven games and has recorded two shutouts during that span.
UP NEXT
Albertus moves on to the semifinal round and will take on the second-seeded Lasers of Lasell University on Tuesday, November 1, in Newton, Mass. Kick-off is set for 2:30 PM.
