Box Score

ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose survived a scare from Northeast-10 Conference rival New Haven by finally breaking through in the 89th minute en route to a 3-2 victory against the Chargers tonight at Sullivan Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex.

Senior back Nicola D'Errico drove home the game-winner when she collected a square pass from sophomore forward Carmelina Puopolo and drove a shot from 20-yards out inside the left post topside for the game-winner.

It appropriately allowed the seventh-ranked Golden Knights (12-0-1/9-0-1 NE-10) to remain unbeaten after manufacturing a 27-8 shot advantage, including a 12-5 margin in on-target threats, and controlling the majority of play that allowed them to generate several unfulfilled dangerous opportunities.

Senior midfielder Christina Cuffari and sophomore midfielder Sydney Bond afforded Saint Rose 1-0 and 2-1 leads early on, but the Chargers (6-6-0/4-6-0 NE-10) countered both times to keep the final outcome in doubt until the final 1:37.

Cuffari put the Golden Knights ahead on a set piece with 7:42 elapsed. Puopolo tapped the ball to her and she immediately lined a shot that sailed under the crossbar for a 1-0 Golden Knights lead. However, New Haven freshman forward Amber Simms  squared it at 1-1 when she collected a neatly placed through ball from senior midfielder Brenna Weidman and finished nearside from the right flank with 18:49 gone by.

Fourteen minutes later, Bond scored from inside the area after Cuffari and senior midfielder Brittany Godin created space for her.

The drama was far from over though as New Haven tied it with an own goal just nine minutes before intermission.

However, Saint Rose immediately seized momentum at the onset of the second half and made several forays into the New Haven end that went for naught until D'Errico registered her first marker of the year that thwarted the need for an overtime session. The latter never appeared more imminent than after Cuffari whistled a shot off the crossbar 15 minutes earlier, which was eerily similar to a strike she unleashed in the closing two minutes of the first period.

As for the road ahead, the league leading Golden Knights visit 18th ranked Merrimack on Saturday in a meeting that will pit the conference's top-two squads. Kickoff is set for 1:00 pm in North Andover, MA. Meanwhile, the Chargers are off until Sunday when they will host NE-10 rival Stonehill, also at 1:00 pm.