ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose survived an upset bid by visiting Northeast-10 Conference rival Stonehill with a 2-1 victory at The Albany Academies today. The Golden Knights, ranked #3 in this week's
NSCAA/Adidas Division II Poll, took advantage of a Stonehill defensive breakdown in the final 10 minutes that produced the game-winner and allowed Saint Rose (5-0/3-0 NE-10) to capture its 14th consecutive home-opener.
Saint Rose outshot the Skyhawks (3-2/1-2 NE-10) 14-5, including 9-3 in the first half, and generated a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks although the outcome remained in doubt after Stonehill forged a 1-1 deadlock at the 78:53 mark.
However, Stonehill suffered a critical breakdown in its own penalty area when sophomore midfielder
Kimberly Morton sailed a ball from 40 yards out that managed to bounce beyond the entire Skyhawks defensive unit. Sophomore forward
Derith Fernandes jumped on the loose ball, dribbled and calmly slipped it into the empty net for the game-winner.
The Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the second period when sophomore forward
Brittany Godin knocked a ball horizontally through the box that junior midfielder
Amanda Deck one-timed home for her team leading third tally of the season.
However, Stonehill eventually took advantage of a foray into the Saint Rose third. Sophomore forward Kelsey Mahoney delivered a diagonal feed from the left flank to senior midfielder Kelly Regan who turned and found the back of the net with a strike from 12-yards out. It marked the first goal allowed by the Golden Knights in their previous 381 minutes of play.
Sophomore
Susan Cowan, junior
Deanna Esposito and senior
Shannon Murphy made a combined three saves between the posts for Saint Rose. Meanwhile, sophomore keeper Sarah Hickey turned aside six shots on goal for Stonehill.
Up next, the Golden Knights return home Wednesday to host NE-10 rival New Haven. Kickoff is set for 4:15 pm. Meanwhile, Stonehill has a 7:00 pm league road match at Southern New Hampshire in Manchester.
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