WESTON, Mass. – Led by three second-half goals, the Wellesley College women's soccer team earned their fourth consecutive shutout victory as they defeated Regis College 3-0 in a non-conference bout on Saturday afternoon at Regis Stadium. With the victory, the Blue advance to 5-1 on the season and with the setback, the Pride fall to 1-2-1.
The contest was scoreless during the first half of play, but each team had a few scoring opportunities. Wellesley had three corner kick chances during the first 10 minutes of play. The first two corner chances resulted in no shots for the visitors, but the third opportunity resulted in a shot by Blue defender Gabby Hartman (La Jolla, Calif.) that just sailed high above the cross bar. Regis had a chance of their own three minutes later as they were set up in the visitor's zone. Joana Rosa (Roxbury, Mass.) took a loose ball from inside the box and ripped a shot on net that was turned away by Blue goalie Claire Cerda (Coral Gables, Fla.) ending the Pride scoring threat. The teams remained evenly matched through the half exchanging possessions in each other's zones. Wellesley, however, held the advantage in shots (7-2) and in corner kicks (5-0) at the end of the half.
During the second half of play, Wellesley netted three goals, the first coming four minutes into the second. At the 49:16 mark, Abigail Hess (Claremont, Calif.) held a corner kick chance. Instead of lifting the ball into the box, she played the ball short to teammate Adrianna Rosario (Newton, Pa.) who was waiting patiently for the pass. She then gave the ball back to Hess who then crossed the ball into the box to junior Juliette Fry (Atlanta, Ga.). Fry made a quick move and then shot the ball into the bottom right corner of the net just out of the reach of Pride goaltender Rachel Gagnon (Ashford, Conn.) and gave the Blue the 1-0 advantage.
Regis had a few chances to knot the score, but Rosa was stifled by Cerda again from about the same spot and Adena Joseph (Stoughton, Mass.) attempted a header but was denied by Cerda as well.
The second goal was scored in the 63rd minute. Sofia Diaz de Villegas (Miami, Fla.), who came into the contest a minute prior, took the ball just outside the box and sent a through ball to teammate Melise Knowles (Diablo, Calif. ), who found herself in a one-on-one opportunity on the right side of the field with Regis' Gagnon. Gagnon would have had a hard time stopping this shot as Knowles ripped it on the complete opposite side of the net and the goal increased Wellesley's lead to 2-0.
Freshman Gen Crotty (Oakville, Ontario) scored her first collegiate goal during the 70th minute as she received a cross from the top of the box, dribbled through the Pride defense, and shot at the opposite post. Her goal upped the Blue lead to 3-0.
Regis was outshot by Wellesley 18-4 during the contest and the Blue held a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks. Claire Cerda made four saves and moved to 5-1 on the year with the victory and Rachel Gagnon stopped nine shots but fell to 1-2-1 on the campaign.
The Pride continue their quest for their first home victory of the season as they take on Eastern Nazarene College on Tuesday September 16th with kick-off slated for 6:30 p.m.