September 30, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Felicia J. Prater
(305) 205-4236
Westfield State Soccer Defeats Smith 3-0
Northampton, MA: The Pioneers fell to Westfield State this afternoon 3-0 in a non-conference contest. With the victory, the Owls improved to 8-1-1 while Smith fell to 1-6-1.
In a game where both teams played great one on one defense, the Owls outshot Smith 22-6 and shot what would be the game winning goal at the 29:52 mark when junior Kate MacLellan (Wilbraham, MA) passed to first year Erica Donnelly (E. Weymouth, MA) who headed up field, drawing Smith's sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Gregor (Bradenton, FL) into the box and firing her shot over Gregor into the center of the net. Led by sophomore Eleanor Theurer (Gainesville, FL), Smith had multiple opportunities to score but couldn't convert as Theurer's two shots on goal were denied by Westfield's sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Pieciak (Three Rivers, MA).
In the second half, the Owls' leading scorer, senior Meg Gearin (Groton, MA) scored their second goal of the game assisted by junior Jill Ranney (Southwick, MA) at the 67:32 mark. With less than fifteen minutes remaining, Westfield tallied their final goal on an "own goal" deflected off Smith.
After the game, Coach Gabbert, for Smith stated "being ranked 10th in the region, we knew Westfield was going to be tough, so we worked hard to stick to our game plan which we did. Though we frustrated them, it wasn't good enough as we wore down in the end. But we constantly attacked and our keeper made some good saves. I was proud of our work ethic and ability to stick to our schemes going in."
The Pioneers will face NEWMAC rival Babson this Saturday at 1:00 PM.
1 2 F
Smith (1-6-1) 0 0 0
Westfield State (8-1-1) 1 2 3
Scoring
1. 29:52 WES Erica Donnelly (Kate MacLellan)
2. 67:32 WES Meg Gearin (Jill Ranney)
3. 75:36 WES Own Goal (unassisted)
Keepers: SMI - Lindsey Gregor (90 mins, 3 GA, 7 saves)
WES - Jessica Pieciak (90 mins, 0 GA, 2 saves)
Shots - Smith 6, WES 22
Corners - Smith 1, WES 5
