COLCHESTER, Vt. - The regionally-ranked Saint Michael's College women's soccer team lost its regular-season finale to Assumption University, 2-0, on Wednesday during Northeast-10 Conference play at Duffy Field. Saint Michael's was fifth in this week's NCAA East Region rankings.
 
As the No. 5 seed, the Purple Knights will make their first NE10 Championship appearance since 2002 on Sunday, visiting No. 4 Bentley University for a 1 p.m. quarterfinal. The Falcons secured the No. 4 seed thanks to a 1-0 win over American International College on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Saint Michael's.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (11-3-4, 3-3-4 NE10), Assumption (7-4-6, 1-4-5 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Juliana Anastopoulos (Chestnut Hill, Mass./Brookline), 5 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Haleigh Ward, 2 assists
• Senior Delaney Farinha, 1 goal
• First-year Elle Bristol, 1 goal
• Sophomore Frida Larsson, 8 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights held a 19-14 lead in shots, while Assumption had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.

THE ACTION

• In the ninth minute, junior Ashley Wenzel sent a through ball that Anastopoulos slid out to cover under pressure from Farinha.
• Senior Emelia McGiffert (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School/Minnesota Duluth) rung the crossbar with a left-footed shot from 25 yards in the 12th minute.
• Assumption scored the lone goal of the opening half in the 20th minute, as Bristol headed home Ward's cross after making a move off of a corner kick entry pass.
• Junior Bella DelVecchio (Saugus, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) forced Larsson into a diving save in the 47th minute, drilling a shot from 30 yards toward the right side of the net.
• Sophomore Shannon Fitzsimmons hit the crossbar on a free kick in the 54th minute, allowing Saint Michael's to stay within a goal.
• Larsson made another diving stop in the 70th minute, turning away senior Claire Williams' (Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert) bid from distance.
• McGiffert ran onto a header near the left post in the 74th minute that bounced into the netminder's hands.
• In the 76th minute, Assumption doubled the lead, as Ward headed graduate student Maya Demello's free kick service to Farinha, who scored from the right side of the box. 
• Saint Michael's came up with only four shots from there, including as first-year Scarlett Brookes (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls) weaved through the Assumption defense in the final third before pushing a shot wide from the right flank.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Sunday at Bentley, NE10 Championship Quarterfinal at 1 p.m.