September 19, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Felicia J. Prater
305-205-4236
Soccer Battles Manhattanville College
Northampton, MA: In a hard fought game this afternoon against a non-conference opponent, the Pioneers took a 5-2 loss. Smith falls to 1-4 on the season while the Valiants improve to 5-1-1.
Six minutes into the game, Manhattanville's leading scorer, junior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ontario) scored first with a hard shot from the middle of the box, narrowly escaping Smith's goalkeeper. Not to be deterred, Smith quickly answered with back to back goals. At the 35:35 mark, senior Etta Grover-Silva (Arcata, CA) registered her first goal of the season off a corner, assisted by senior Val Driscoll (Keene, NH). Feeding off the momentum, Smith scored again, setting up an identical play off a corner from Driscoll to Grover-Silva at the 38:27 minute of play. The Valiants were able to tie the game up before halftime with a score from senior Kathryn Moore (Pearl River, NY) off a free kick.
Manhattanville pulled away in the second half, scoring three times. Moore scored her second goal of the contest on another free kick while Nonis tallied her second and third goals respectively. In an aggressive game, where 25 fouls were called, Smith head coach, Stephanie Gabbert was proud of her athletes. She "admired how well they played and adjusted to their first game in a new system." She added that "the defense was good, despite a few letdowns in goal, but overall, play is improving."
The Pioneers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 23 as they travel to Elms for a 7pm showdown.
1 2 F
Smith (1-4) 2 0 2
Manhattanville (5-1-1) 2 3 5
Scoring
1) 06:18 MVILLE Holly Nonis
2) 35:35 SMI Etta Grover-Silva (Val Driscoll)
3) 38:27 SMI Etta Grover-Silva (Val Driscoll)
4) 43:40 MVILLE Kathryn Moore
5) 58:29 MVILLE Kathryn Moore
6) 64:31 MVILLE Holly Nonis
7) 69:50 MVILLE Holly Nonis (Brittney Smith)
Keepers
Smith - Lindsey Gregor (90 mins, 5 GA, 8 saves)
Manhattanville - Ali Bromson (90 mins, 2 GA, 2 saves)
