WALTHAM, Mass. - Senior Katie Murphy (Woodbridge, Conn./Amity Regional) staked the Saint Michael's College women's soccer team to a lead for the second straight game on Sunday before the Purple Knights fell to Bentley University, 2-1, during a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Saint Michael's slipped to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the league, while the Falcons are now 3-1 and 2-1.

Senior keeper Brittany Cocozza (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich/Saint John's [N.Y.]) picked up her first start this fall for the Purple Knights, making one save. Junior Cassie Crockett (Gilmanton, N.H./Gilford) contributed an assist on a Murphy goal for the second consecutive contest.

Junior Julie Pomponi (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) provided all of the offense during a three-minute span for Bentley, scoring 2:21 before halftime to knot the score before lending the hosts the game-winner 39 seconds into the second stanza. Freshman Christiana Hynds (West Roxbury, Mass./Boston Latin School) made seven saves.

Saint Michael's grabbed the lead on its first shot, with Murphy tapping in a Crockett cross toward the goal line at 15:03. However, Pomponi's first tally off of a teammate's through ball tied the game, and she redirected a shot in the 46th minute to give the Falcons the lead for good.

The Purple Knights pushed to tie during the remainder of the contest, taking 11 of the game's final 14 shots and three of the last four corner kicks. The final opportunity for Saint Michael's to score came with a little more than a minute remaining, but a last shot by the visitors was blocked.

Saint Michael's returns home on Wednesday to take on nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce University at 4:30 p.m. The Ravens are 18th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) national poll and sit tied for second in its East region rankings.