BOSTON – Two goals from Emmanuel's junior captain Maggie Carey and three points each from freshmen Mikayla Guthrieand and Kayla Generis lifted the Saints to a 4-0 conference win over Suffolk on Wednesday night at Roberto Clemente Field.
The victory pushes the Saints to 3-1 in the GNAC and 5-7 overall, while the Rams fall to 2-2 against GNAC opponents and 3-8 overall.
Suffolk had its best scoring opportunity in the game's opening minute when the Rams pushed the counter attack after a corner kick by Savannah Lundwall. Suffolk sophomore Jennifer Martin found herself all alone as the ball bounce towards the box, but Emmanuel goalkeeper Victoria LaRochecharged out and made a sliding save to keep the Rams off the board.
Aside from one other save by LaRoche, it was the Saints that carried much of the play in the first half and they were rewarded in the 22nd minute when Carey found the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
The ball bounced into the box where Guthrie tapped it through a defender and onto the foot of Generis. Generis, one of three players with five points this season, slid a brilliant feed to Carey who was able to push the ball inside the post to break the 0-0 tie.
Most of the following 23 minutes was played at or around midfield, but Generis hit the crossbar twice, and Martin answered by ringing the bar above LaRoche's head with just minutes remaining before halftime. All in all, the three shots all resulted in loud misses, and the Saints carried a 1-0 lead into the break.
The Saints wasted no time doubling the lead once the second half began, as two captains combined to put their team up 2-0. Senior Katelyn Fink earned her first assist of the season by setting up Carey's second goal of the game and of her junior campaign.
Suffolk had another opportunity to get back into the game when Martin attempted a corner kick in the 67th minute. Emmanuel, however, was able to clear the ball off the corner and start a counter attack towards the Suffolk end. It was Fink again, who was able to find Guthrie, and the freshman buried her second career goal to extend the Emmanuel lead to 3-0.
The Saints added a fourth tally less than five minutes later when senior Molly Carey crossed a ball into the box where Generis was waiting to scorch the back of the net for her second collegiate goal.
LaRoche, the reigning GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week earned the victory, making three saves before giving way to Bethany Bonilla, who played the final 8:24 of the game. LaRoche's record improves to 5-7, while Suffolk freshman goalkeeper Kirsten Weiker falls to 3-8.
The Rams will stay on the road for the second of three games away from home when they travel to Anna Maria on Saturday at 12 p.m.