Posted: Sep 15, 2012
Suffolk Junior forward Gabrielle Balestrier scored her first goal of the season in the 30th minute to provide all the offense the Suffolk University women's soccer team would need to down Norwich on Saturday afternoon at Howard Field in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.
Balestrier capitalized on a rebound off the crossbar from a blast by Taylor Miranda from 25 yards out to catch Norwich junior goalkeeper Allison Hull (South Royalton, Vt.) off her line and slide the ball into a wide open net to give the Rams a 1-0 lead they would never look back from.
Although Norwich (1-4-1, 0-2-1 GNAC) outshot Suffolk 12-4 in the first half, the Cadets weren't able to get anything past the Rams' goalkeeper Tabitha Michaelidis. In the second half, Suffolk (1-4-0, 1-2-0 GNAC) turned the tables and outshot the Cadets 12-4 to even the total shots at 16 apiece.
The Cadets still had their chances however in the second half, including two great opportunities for junior forward Grace Fitzpatrick (Portland, Maine) separated by less than four minutes early in the half. Fitzpatrick just missed finishing a cross by Sara Goes in the 60th minute but pushed it wide. She then had another chance in the 64th minute from the right that she shot straight into the arms of Michaelidis.
Senior forward Brittany Casey (Pointe Claire, Quebec) had her best shot of finally cracking the scoring column in 2012 with a little over two minutes left but she shot the ball wide to the left from 18 yards out.
Michaelidis finished with six saves to pick up the shutout for Suffolk and improve to 1-1 on the year. Hull made three saves for Norwich to drop to 1-3-1.
(Story courtesy of Norwich University Sports Information)