Mitchell Women Defeat SVC In Soccer

Mitchell College's women's soccer team competed in the first round of the New England Collegiate Conference on Tuesday, defeating Southern Vermont College 2-0. The following information was provided by David Longolucco, sports information director at Mitchell College:

After a scoreless first half, Mitchell (9-4-2 overall) scored a pair of goals in the opening 5:34 of the second half to seize control. The Mariners advance to the NECC Championship semifinals and will host Elms College or Regis College on Thursday, November 3 at 2 p.m. Southern Vermont, playing in its first conference tournament since 1999, ended the season with an overall record of 3-11-0.

Both sides were tentative in the early going as they adjusted to the speed of the artificial turf on the neutral field. Mitchell held an 8-1 edge in shots for the stanza and had the best scoring opportunity of the half in the 29th minute when senior Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, Conn./Gilbert School) fired a shot off the post on a breakaway attempt. SVC goalkeeper Catrina Cecchini (Montville, Conn.) turned away all three shots on goal by the Mariners to keep the match scoreless at the halftime whistle.

A more aggressive Mitchell team took to the pitch for the second half, evidenced by a barrage of shots in the first five minutes of the period. Junior Malorie Klieber (Wantagh, N.Y./General Douglas MacArthur) set the tone with a blast off the crossbar on the first possession of the half, and the Mariners kept the pressure on and finally found the scoring column just over a minute later.

Freshman Maariyah Lombardo (Middletown, Conn./Middletown) provided the game’s first goal in the 47th minute, cleaning up a rebound in front of the goal off a shot by Hoxie. Cecchini made the save on the initial shot but couldn’t hold on to it, and Lombardo finished into an open net for her team-leading 13th goal of the season.

The Mariners added another goal minutes later on a traffic jam inside the box. A centering pass by senior Angie Smith (Meriden, Conn./Platt) was kicked around in front of the goal, but junior Rebecca Tabak (North Haven, Conn./North Haven) broke through the pack to squeak a shot over the goal line before it was cleared away. The goal was Tabak’s first of the season.

Mitchell kept the ball locked in its offensive half for the majority of the second half. The Mariners finished the contest with a 29-2 advantage in shots and a 13-1 edge in corner kicks. Southern Vermont’s Krysten Runci (South Carroll, Md.) recorded a pair of shots but didn’t test goalkeeper Kaylee Woodford (Niantic, Conn./Morgan School), who notched her seventh shutout of the season.