WALTHAM, Mass. - The fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's soccer team lost to No. 4 Bentley University, 1-0, during a Northeast-10 Conference Championship quarterfinal on Sunday. While returning to the postseason for the first time in 22 years, the Purple Knights will now await a potential at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Saint Michael's was fifth in the latest NCAA East Region rankings, and the Falcons stood sixth.
Â
RECORDS
- Saint Michael's (11-4-4), Bentley (8-3-6)
SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS
OPPONENT LEADERS
- First-year Heidi Lawrence, 1 goal
- Senior Claire Ewen, 3 saves
GAME FACTS
- The Purple Knights made their first NE10 Championship appearance since the 2002 season.
- Saint Michael's held a 14-6 lead in shots, while Bentley gained an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.
- Bentley pushed its unbeaten streak to eight games (4-0-4) while improving to 6-0-4 at home this season.
- The teams met in the postseason for the first time.
THE ACTION
- In the ninth minute, sophomore Abi Hennessey dropped a pass toward the left corner of the box for Lawrence, who one-touched the cross into the far side of the net on her team's first shot to give Bentley an early lead.
- Anastopoulos made a sprawling save near the left post in the 24th minute to keep it 1-0.
- In the 58th minute, while flanked by a Bentley defender, first-year Scarlett Brookes (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) chipped a shot from the edge of the box just over the crossbar.
- Classmate Sarah Gormley (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) was turned away by a diving Ewen in the 61st minute after taking senior Emelia McGiffert's (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School/Minnesota Duluth) feed into the box.
- First-year Sadie Stone (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) volleyed a shot toward the top of the frame in the 79th minute, but Ewen jumped to bat the ball over the bar.
- Junior Bella DelVecchio's (Saugus, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) feed in the 85th minute for the middle of the box found Gormley, who sent a shot just wide of the right post under pressure.
- With a little more than a minute to go, Anastopoulos took a free kick from just outside midfield that reached the box, where DelVecchio knocked a final bid wide right of the frame.