NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team opened their 2021 season with a dominating 1-0 victory over the Mariners of Mitchell College on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Freshman Emmalee Ianniello (Hamden, Conn.) scored the winning goal for the Falcons at the 76th minute of play with an assist from senior forward Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons roared out of the gate early, peppering Mariners' goalie Gemma Landry with a barrage of shots. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Landry was on her A-game, tallying 18 saves throughout the course of the match.
Albertus wasn't deterred, continuing to fire shots from all angles. At the conclusion of the first half, with the score still knotted at zero, the Falcons had out-shot the Mariners by a whopping 23-0.
The beginning of the second half started much the same, with the Mariners unable to stymie the Falcon offense. Albertus out-shot the Mariners in the second half by a 17-1 margin and finished the game out-shooting the Mariners in corner kicks 10-0.
With just over 13 minutes remaining in regulation, the Falcons suddenly broke away as Raposo intercepted an opposing pass and scorched through the Mariners' defenders, finding Ianiello waiting near the goal. Ianiello didn't waste any time, quickly sending the Raposo pass by the Mitchell goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the score.
Falcon keeper Michelle Mecca (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) didn't have much action in the net, converting her only save opportunity and finishing the game 1-for-1 in saves.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
- Albertus: Micehlle Mecca (W, 1-0) | 1-for-1 saves
- Mitchell: Gemma Landry (L, 0-1) | 18-for-19 saves
NOTEWORTHY
- Sophomore Victoria Jainchill (Simsbury, Conn.) paced the Falcons with 12 shots, seven of which were on goal.
- Senior Haley Andrews (Prospect, Conn.) contributed seven shots, with four of them on goal.
- Eleven of the Falcons' 18 players tallied at least one shot, with eight of them tallying multiple shots.
- Coach Wajnowski picked up his 121st career victory in tonight's win.
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 5, as they host Elms College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown beginning at 12PM at Celentano Field in New London, Conn.
