COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College women's soccer team fell to Assumption College, 4-0, in the consolation game of the fourth annual Catholic Cup on Saturday at Duffy Field. Saint Michael's now holds a record of 0-2 on the young season, while the Greyhounds are 1-1. Stonehill College overcame Saint Anselm College, 1-0, in the championship game. The win earned Stonehill its first Catholic Cup title. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Megan LeCours (Barre, Vt./Spalding) turned away nine shots on the day for the Purple Knights to match her career high. Senior Alyssa Keeler (Ghent, N.Y./Chatham) and sophomore Sara Rooke (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) were selected to the all-tournament team for Saint Michael's. 

Junior Amanda Arnold led the way for Assumption, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Sophomores Jessica FitzGerald and Kallie Villemaire and first-year Sydney Huckabee contributed goals for the Greyhounds. Huckabee's was her first college goal. Senior Emily Kuzma made four saves on the day. 

In the 14th minute, Rooke barely missed on an attempt following a corner by senior Alana Houlihan (North Andover, Mass./North Andover). Houlihan sent a ball across the box that Rooke met with her right foot on a sliding attempt at goal. The ball rolled just past the wrong side of the right post. 

LeCours and her teammates withstood a flurry of attempts on goal by the opponents during a minute-long span that began in the 18th minute and saw Assumption line up for three separate corner kicks. A header after the first corner kick was blocked by Purple Knight defenders, and the scramble that ensued led to a shot the LeCours was able to deflect off goal and out of bounds for another corner kick. Assumption sophomore Ania Spina then attempted a shot directly from the corner which LeCours was able to deflect off goal and out of bounds for yet another Assumption corner kick. The next corner flew across the box and found a Greyhound player's head on the end of it, but LeCours caught the ball and held on for another save. 

The Purple Knights' best scoring chance came in the 40th minute when senior Allegra DiCesare (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) got on the end of a corner kick taken by sophomore Alex Matteo (Tolland, Conn./Tolland), tapping the redirection with her right foot just wide of the left post. The teams went into halftime scoreless. 

LeCours made a diving save of a Villemaire shot in the 49th minute before Arnold opened the scoring for Assumption in the 50th minute with a high shot from the left side of the box that was out of the reach of LeCours. Saint Michael's put consecutive shots on Kuzma in the 56th minute, with senior Amanda Shanahan (Hull, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) turned away before junior back Nicole DeOrsey (Colchester, Vt./Colchester) was also stopped eight seconds later on a low blast. In the 68th minute, Huckabee notched the Greyhounds' second tally with a shot from the top of the box that deflected off a Saint Michael's defender, with the redirected ball rolling slowly into an empty net. Arnold assisted.

Assumption's third goal came in the 80th minute when Villemaire let go of a hard and low left-footed shot from the top of the box that found the back of the net. The Greyhounds' final marker came in the 86th minute when Fitzgerald tapped in a rebound following a LeCours save of her initial shot.

Up next for the Purple Knights will be their Northeast-10 Conference opener. The team will play host to Merrimack College next Saturday at 1 p.m.