BENNINGTON, Vt. – In a hard-fought New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's soccer match, Elms College went home the victor with a 2-1 score over Southern Vermont College at Everett Field on Saturday.
Senior Blazer Christina Goodchild (East Longmeadow, Mass.) put home the winning tally with 1:38 to play in regulation off a look that resulted from a corner kick.
Elms started the match with strong pressure when the Blazers were able to work the ball into their offensive end of the field, moving it well across the top of the box. They were hard-pressed to get through the Mountaineer defense, however, and the score stood at 0-0 for the first 27 minutes. SVC's best chance came five minutes in as senior Kaitlyn Forant (Hardwick, Vt.) had a great through ball that she touched a tad too hard as it sped away to an oncoming Elms sophomore keeper Alexa Rinaudo (Bellmore, N.Y.).
EC finally broke the tie after a Southern Vermont foul gave the Blazers a free kick just a few yards out of the penalty box, allowing them to organize a set piece. Senior Allyson Witaszek (Feeding Hills, Mass.) ran on and placed the shot up and around the wall, curling back to the left bottom corner of the goal where it snuck past SVC sophomore goalie Katie Raymond (Bristol, Conn.) for the 1-0 advantage and her second of the season. Neither team was able to drum up any opportunities that led to a tally in the remaining 18 minutes as they went into the break with the Blazers ahead by the one.
Southern Vermont came out of halftime with better ball control, possessing up top and creating chances for itself in the process through the first ten minutes of the period. During that process, the Mountaineers worked the ball into the box, having chances batted around until junior Lixsa Arlet Sandoval (Chula Vista, Calif.) collected it, took a touch to set up a shot and finished on a good look, her second of the year and the game's equalizer in the 53rd minute.
The 1-1 score would hold for the next 35 minutes with both teams having good opportunities to break it. SVC freshman Melodie Orrell (Gloucester, Mass.) saw a golden chance get robbed when she found herself in the box about five yards away from goal, but Rinaudo was able to get her hands on the ball to preserve the tie. EC started to knock on the door in the final 10 minutes of play as the Mountaineers found themselves on their heels and trying to hinder the Blazer attacks. Finally with less than two minutes to play, Elms was awarded a corner kick which it fully took advantage of as Witaszek hit the ball to the far side of the box, untouched, where Goodchild settled and fired across the frame for the 2-1 notch and eventual game-winner. It was her third goal of the season.
Rinaudo recorded three salves in the win (4-5-1) while Raymond finished the day with six stopped shots in the losing effort (4-6-1).
The Mountaineers (5-6-1, 4-2 NECC) return to action Wednesday with a 4 p.m. home makeup conference contest against Wheelock College while Elms (7-8-1, 6-1 NECC) looks to hosting Daniel Webster College Wednesday at 7 p.m.