Somerville, Mass. – The Suffolk University Women's Soccer team (3-1-1 overall, 2-0 GNAC) picked up a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over the Emmanuel College Saints (2-5 overall, 0-3) on Saturday evening by a 6-2 score. Freshman Gabrielle Balestrier (Mohnton, Penn.) netted her first career hat trick scoring all three goals in the first half for the Rams who pick up their third win of the season and second GNAC win of the week.
Suffolk controlled much of the offensive tempo early firing off 18 shots in the first period. Balestrier got the scoring started early scoring in the game's seventh minute on a two-on-one as freshman Monica Wolf (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) set her up for the game's first goal.
It wouldn't take Emmanuel long to answer as junior Amber DiNucci (Assonet, Mass.) answered forty seconds later on a takeaway and broke past the Suffolk defense to even the score at one.
Balestrier and the Rams continued to put the pressure on offensively scoring two more times in the next twenty five minutes. Balestrier struck again five minutes later putting home a rebound from Taylor Miranda (Smithtown, N.Y.) for the 2-1 edge.
Balestrier recorded the hat trick twenty minutes later as she was led up the field by Wolf, and junior Leslie Hayden (Ross, Calif.).
The Saints would score again in the first half as junior Melanie Hoffman (Topsham, Me.) converted on a penalty kick to cut the lead to 3-2.
Miranda gave the Rams a cushion as they went up 4-2 two minutes into the second half as she was fed by Hayden on a cross pass.
Hayden, the Rams' leading goal scorer the past two seasons would seemingly put the game away in the game's 72nd minute scoring her third goal of the season as she put in a rebound off of a Balestrier shot.
Miranda added her fourth goal of the week with a little more than a minute left to play in the contest on a feed by freshman Meghan McHale (Halifax, Mass.).
Miranda had a shot for a hat trick of her own, but was a victim of bad luck as one of her shots hit the post and then hit the top crossbar on a header with the ensuing rebound.
Senior Emily Joyce (Easton, Mass.) made four saves in goal for Suffolk for her third win of the season.
Suffolk outshot the Saints 30-11 in the contest.
The Rams will be back in action on Wednesday as they host St. Joseph's College on Maine at 6:00pm in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action.