Box Score ALBANY – A pair of late goals four minutes apart allowed The College of Saint Rose to win its fourth straight with a key 2-1 victory against
Northeast-10 Conference rival Southern Connecticut State tonight at
Sullivan Field at the Plumeri Sports Complex.
Saint Rose (12-1-12/9-1-2 NE-10), ranked #17 in the
NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Top-25 Poll for the second straight week, controlled the majority of play although both sides created some superlative opportunities. The Golden Knights generated a 17-7 shot advantage, including a 7-3 differential in shots-on-target, and manufactured 10 corner kicks while yielding only a pair.
Regardless, the game played out as one would expect between the conference's top two defenses until three strikes in the final 17 minutes changed its complexion completely.
Freshman midfielder
Michaela Phillips finally broke the ice after she headed home a loose ball that sophomore forward
Meeghan Arno rattled off the crossbar with 73:08 gone by.
Four minutes later, Saint Rose appeared to have the match in hand when junior forward
Carmelina Puopolo tapped home another loose ball for her league leading 14th marker of the year. Freshman midfielder
Jennifer Busk initiated the play by sending in a high corner from the left flag that eluded Southern Connecticut State freshman keeper Elizabeth Nickerson and allowed Puopolo to find the back of the net for the 43rd time in her career.
However, the Owls (7-4-3/5-4-3 NE-10) refused to go quietly. They cut their deficit in half when junior midfielder Suzana Pires headed home a cross off the foot of junior back Sarah Brochu with 79:21 elapsed. Time ran out though before Southern Connecticut State could get the equalizer and thus the Owls were left to ponder another one-goal loss, their fourth in as many setbacks this autumn.
Between the posts, junior
Jessica Gerski recorded a pair of saves and improved to 11-1-2 on the year for Saint Rose while Nickerson turned aside four shots for Southern Connecticut State.
Looking ahead, the Golden Knights are back on the road Saturday with a 12:30 pm conference date at Stonehill in Easton, MA. The Owls are also on the road Saturday with a 12:00 pm NE-10 meeting at Bentley in Waltham, MA.
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