EAST BOSTON – Lily Christian made the most of her collegiate debut as she poured in the game-winner with just 1:38 left in push Suffolk women's soccer to a 1-0 victory against Elms in the Rams' 2021 season opener Wednesday afternoon at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Elms 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-0-0) | Elms (0-1-0) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took a while for the teams to catch their barring after nearly two years away from collegiate competition. The first and best look of the first set of 45 minutes came off the boot of Christian. The freshman's shot flew just above the crossbar though and zeros remained on either side of the scoreboard at the conclusion of the first frame.  

Ten minutes out of the intermission excitement sparked for Suffolk. Alicia Bibi lifted the rock dead center in the box off a corner kick and connected with a leaping Christian. The rookie's attempt looked good until Blazers netminder Angela Picheo punched the ball over the crossbar, which gave the hosts another corner kick.  

History repeated itself as Bibi set up in the corner and found Christian once again. This time Christian played out to her classmate Jazmya Harris on the right-side lower half of the box for a more direct shot. The effort went just high and things remained scoreless with 35 minutes remaining in the second stanza.   

Aislinn Servaes brought the crowd to its feet at the 83rd minute mark. The freshman from Foxborough, Massachusetts, out ran a pair of Elms defenders down the left side of the field for a one-on-one with Picheo. Servaes had a tough angle from inside the 10-yard line, which paid off in Picheo's favor, as the opponent's gloves gobbled up the ball and things stayed scoreless as the end of regulation loomed.  

After Servaes near strike momentum remained in the Rams favor as the clock dwindled. Delaney Hall sent a shot to the cage that Picheo turned aside to set up another blue-and-gold corner try that was off the mark.  

Servaes took matters into her own hands in the 88th minute when she dribbled into the box and slipped a pass over to Christian, who finished in the top right corner of the net to eliminate the shutout.  

Elms raced against time to come back. The Blazers had a chance too when Hailey Magierowski 13 seconds after Suffolk scored, but it went wide left and the Rams were victorious at the final whistle. 

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Allison Rodrigues turned aside the pair of shots she faced to backstop the Rams' win. 
• Picheo finished the day with six saves in the setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Christian potted the lone goal of the day behind a set-up from Servaes. 
• The Rams held the upperhand in overall shots, 14-5, shots on target, 7-2, as well corner kicks, 4-2.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk played at home for game one of the year for the first time since 2016 and improved to 4-3-0 when playing day one at home. 
• Suffolk has won back-to-back season openers for the first time since in program history. 
• The day one shutout is the second straight and third in the Rams' record books. 
• The Rams met Elms in the first game of the year for the second time and second straight season. 
• The Rams improved to 6-7-1 in the season debut in program history. 
• Suffolk moved to 2-1-0 in season openers in the Ashley Van Vechten's era. 
• Suffolk remains unbeaten all-time against Elms, 2-0-0. 
• The Rams have shutout the Blazers by identical 1-0 margins in both outings in the all-time series. 
• Rodrigues now has 13th shutouts to her credit throughout her collegiate career. 
• The Rams have kept an opponent off the scoreboard 13 times with Van Vechten on the bench.
• Christian and Servaes recorded their first collegiate points on one goal and one assist, respectively. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is back in action this Saturday, Sept. 4 when Framingham State stops by East Boston Memorial Park's James A. Sartori Stadium for a 12 p.m. outing.