PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Despite a goal from senior Haley Andrews (Prospect, Conn.) at the 71st minute, the Albertus Magnus College women's soccer team came up short on the road to the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University, 2-1, on Wednesday evening under the lights in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) showdown at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletics Complex.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Johnson & Wales 2 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (4-4, 2-3) | Johnson & Wales (7-3-1, 5-0-1)
BOX SCORE
HOW IT HAPPENED
Johnson & Wales struck first, sneaking a ball past Albertus' Michelle Mecca (Greenwood Lake, N.Y.) at the 10-minute mark to gain the early 1-0 advantage. The Wildcats managed to force a corner kick following a foul by the Falcons, giving the hosts the offensive edge. Following the kick, JWU's Jordan Petrucci managed to find teammate Trina Capezza, who placed the ball in the lower-left corner of the net, giving the hosts the early advantage.
Despite being outshot 7-0, Albertus put the pressure on the Wildcats around the 31st minute, as the Falcons capitalized on a Wildcat foul that put their offense in scoring position. Freshman Ashley Shaw (Milford, Conn.) managed to throw off her defender and find an open opportunity for a shot attempt, but Wildcat keeper Carly McCrumb made the save, keeping the Falcons off the scoreboard.
With the clock ticking down in the half, both defensive units settled in, as the WIldcats retained their one-goal lead heading into the break.
Mecca came up big as the game went on, especially in the 56th-minute as the sophomore keeper kept the Wildcats from adding to their score by stopping six of the host's eight shot attempts. During that stretch, she also tied her season-high in saves with 13.
Albertus' offensive unit began to feed off of Mecca's performance in goal as Katherine Raposo (Warwick, R.I.) threatened the hosts at the 64th minute with a shot attempt, but her shot was held off by McCrumb. Shortly after, Johnson & Wales resumed control offensively and a goal from Olivia Cairrao, who scored on the assist from Juliana Abramovich, gave the hosts a two-goal advantage with 20 minutes remaining in regulation.
The game looked to be locked up in the Wildcats' favor, but two minutes later, Andrews cut the lead in half, 2-1, netting her second goal of the season behind an assist from Raposo at the 71st minute.
However, Andrew's goal wasn't enough for the Falcons to overcome the deficit, and the Wildcats went on to capture their seventh win of the season.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
- Albertus: Michelle Mecca (4-4) - 20 Shots on Goal | 2 Goals-Against | 18 Saves
- Johnson & Wales: Carly McCrumb (6-1-1) - 3 Shots on Goal | 1 Goal-Against | 2 Saves
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Johnson & Wales led the offensive attack, outshooting Albertus, 29-3.
- The Wildcats also won the battle in corner kicks, 13-2.
- Both teams recorded eight fouls each.
NOTEWORTHY
- This is the 17th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- JWU extends its all-time series record to 11-5-2 against Albertus.
- Raposo, Shaw, and Andrews each posted a shot attempt.
- The Wildcats were led offensively by Cairrao and Restivo, who finished with seven shots apiece.
- Mecca's 18 save-performance was a season and career-high for the sophomore keeper.
- Mecca's 18 saves also catapulted her into fourth place on the GNAC saves leaderboard with 55.
UP NEXT
Albertus returns home on Saturday, Oct. 2 with a conference showdown against Emmanuel (Mass.) College. Kick-off is set for 1:30 PM at Celentano Field in New Haven, Conn.
