Boston, Mass. – Juniors Paige Haley (San Diego, Calif.) and Alexandra Levin (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) each picked up a pair of goals to push the Emerson women's soccer team to its first victory of 2017 as the Lions held on to the 4-2 win over NEWMAC foe, Mount Holyoke on Saturday afternoon.
Haley and Levin produced all four of Emerson's goals and saw freshman Amanda Benavente (West Boca Raton, Fl.) and sophomore Veronica Alberts (Half Moon Bay, Calif.) each be credited with an assist. Sophomore keeper Hannah Hodge (Gainesville, Ga.) earned her first win of the season and came away with five saves and allowed two goals on seven shots.
Senior forward Sara Sanaú Ruiz (Zaragoza, Spain/P.P. DOminicos – Cardenal) and sophomore forward Hannah Finn-Erb (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) each notched goals for Mount Holyoke. Junior keeper Amanda Manaster (Beverly Hills, Calif./Beverly Hills) took the loss for Mount Holyoke and allowed four goals with seven saves on 11 shots through 90 minutes between the pipes. Emerson outshot Mount Holyoke, 19-7, while both team were even with four corner kicks
Emerson maintained ball possession through much of the opening half, outshooting Mount Holyoke 7-1, which contributed to getting the Lions on top, 2-0.
In the eight minute of the match, Manaster made the initial save on a shot, but the ball slipped out of her hands and onto the foot of Haley, who flicked her second goal of the year into the lower left side to put the Lions up 1-0 in the eighth minute.
Emerson scored their second goal in the 23rd minute as Levin knocked it in past Manaster, who was all alone on the left wing to go up 2-0.
Both Emerson and Mount Holyoke found the back of the net twice within the second half, but it was the Lions who edged out the Lyons, 4-2. Haley produced her second goal of the game in the 49th minute on a cross from Benavente and snuck the Lions third net into the right side. In the 60th minute, Emerson bumped its lead up to 4-0 thanks to Levin's second net of the game, who rolled the ball into the left side from within the crease.
Sanaú Ruiz erased the Lions shutout hopes with its first goal in the 71st minute as she capitalized on her free kick chance and snuck the ball in between Hodge's hand and the right post. Mount Holyoke was able to cut the score in half in the later minutes of the second half (82nd minute) after Finn-Erb collected a deflection off Hodge that sailed just below the crossbar. Emerson was able to keep the ball on its end of the field as the Lions went on snag the 4-2 win.
Emerson gets back onto the field next Tuesday, September 19 and steps out of NEWMAC play in a non-conference matchup against Trinity (Conn.) at 6:30 p.m. Mount Holyoke also takes a break from NEWMAC action to take on Wesleyan at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 20.
