COLCHESTER, Vt. - In a meeting between regionally-ranked Northeast 10 Conference squads, the Saint Michael's College women's soccer team blanked Adelphi University, 3-0, on Saturday during Senior Day at Duffy Field. The Purple Knights, who were seventh in this week's United Soccer Coaches East Region poll, won their fifth consecutive contest, all via a shutout. The Panthers were fifth in the latest rankings.
 
With two regular-season games remaining, Saint Michael's vaulted Adelphi to take over third place in the NE10. The top seven qualify for the NE10 Championship, and the top four earn at least one postseason home game.
 
The Purple Knights honored seniors Juliana Anastopoulos (Chestnut Hill, Mass./Brookline), Kayleigh Crowell (Beverly, Mass./Beverly), Bella DelVecchio (Saugus, Mass./Bishop Fenwick), Katie Hansen (Spring Lake, N.J./Red Bank Catholic), Faith Kosiba (Dunstable, Mass./Groton-Dunstable Regional), Charlotte Morey (Chelmsford, Mass./Lowell Catholic), Madison Powers (Thetford, Vt./Thetford Academy) and Bridget Shaw (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) prior to the contest.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (13-2-1, 4-2-1 NE10), Adelphi (8-5, 4-3 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• DelVecchio, 2 assists
• Sophomore Scarlett Brookes (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Knolls), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Sophomore Lola Follansbee (Grafton, Mass./Grafton), 1 goal
• Sophomore Sarah Gormley (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach), 1 goal
• First-year Chloe Laizer (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield), 5 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• First-year Emily Aridas, 6 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights posted their school-record 11th shutout, as Laizer's seventh of the season broke Ashleigh Adams' '12 program mark for clean sheets by a rookie, set in 2008. She is one shutout short of the overall shutouts mark. Laizer is already seventh in program history in career shutouts and tied for seventh in wins.
• After not posting at least five straight shutouts since a program-record nine-game stretch in 1989, Saint Michael's has now twice recorded five consecutive shutouts this fall. The Purple and Gold is currently riding a 423:30 shutout streak after notching a 517:30 run earlier this season.
• The Purple Knights, who improved to 15-4-3 at home since October 2023, earned their first win in eight meetings with the Panthers on Duffy Field.
• Adelphi, which qualified for the past three NCAA Tournaments, had not suffered a three-goal loss against an NE10 foe since the 2023 NE10 Championship title game, when it sustained a 4-1 loss to The College of Saint Rose. The Panthers were last shut out in last year's NE10 title game by Franklin Pierce, 1-0, but had not been blanked in regular-season play since a scoreless draw with Bentley University on Oct. 14, 2023.
• Saint Michael's entered the day tied for first in NCAA Division II in wins.
• Brookes potted her fifth game-winning goal of the season, the most by a Purple Knight since complete records became available in 1996. Her eight career are two shy of another program mark, and she moved into a tie for 10th in program history in season goals (10) and points (25). Judy Cronin '06 was the last Saint Michael's player with 10 goals in a season, in 2002. Brookes has five goals and five assists during a current seven-game points streak and now one goal shy of Adelphi junior Kayleigh Goodrich for the NE10 lead.
• DelVecchio moved into seventh in program history in career assists (14).
• The Panthers held edges in shots (17-14) and corner kicks (6-4).

THE ACTION

• Laizer kept the teams level with a diving save toward the center of the net in the 16th minute.
• Brookes broke through in the 28th minute, stopping on a dime as a defender flew by her, changing feet, and finishing from the right corner of the box after taking junior Bridget Hanley's (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) through ball. DelVecchio also assisted.
• Only 8:56 later, the Purple Knights made it 2-0. A yellow card gave Saint Michael's a restart just outside the box, and DelVecchio slipped a pass beyond two Panthers to Gormley, who one-touched the shot with her left foot beyond a diving Aridas.
• Laizer maintained the lead with a diving save of Goodrich's free kick in the 55th minute.
• The Purple Knights padded their lead in the 65th minute. Sophomore Jules Peterson (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) took a giveaway along the left sideline and centered for Brookes, who slipped a through ball into the box for Follansbee, who tucked a shot inside the right netting, pushing her goals streak to three games.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Next Saturday at regionally-ranked Franklin Pierce University, 2 p.m.
• The Ravens were fourth in this week's United Soccer Coaches East Region poll and earned votes toward the national rankings.