BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Payton Fitzgerald (Danielson, Conn.) netted a pair of goals but it was not enough as the Regis (Mass.) women's soccer team fell 4-2 to Simmons College on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks extend their unbeaten streak to three straight and improve to 3-3-2 overall, including 2-2-1 in league play, while the Pride fall to 2-4-0 and 2-3-0 on the season. The contest marked the first match as conference opponents since Regis joined the GNAC to start the 2017-18 campaign.

Simmons dominated possession with a 24-8 shot advantage and owned a 9-2 margin on corner kicks.

Ciara Forde's first marker opened the scoring for the Sharks just 8:26 into the match. Junior forward Mikayla Elliott (Lowell, Mass.) sent a cross from the right side of the box that made its way into a small crowd, untouched, to Forde for a shot in front of the goal to give the home team a 1-0 edge. Her second tally of the match gave the Sharks a 3-1 lead and was the eventual game winner. Senior forward Gabrielle Klane (Franklin, Mass.) set Forde up on the left side from 18-yards out, where Forde lifted a shot into the far post for her fifth goal of the season at the 67:14 mark of the second half. The marker was one of four goals scored in a seven-minute span by both teams in the second half.

The Pride scored less than one minute later when junior back Jenna Novio (Rockland, Mass.) sent a 45-yard free kick into the box, where first year forward Payton Fitzgerald (Danielson, Conn.) collected the cross and scored her second marker of the day to register the first multi-goal outing of her career and pull the visitors to within 3-2 in the 69^th minute of play. Simmons continued the scoring flurry just 16 ticks later when Klane lifted a shot from the right sideline that found its way inside the far left post for her first goal of the year and a 4-2 lead for the Sharks at 68:29.

Fitzgerald's first score of the day tied the match at 1-1 in the 10^th minute of action. The rookie lifted a shot, that eluded the outstretched fingertips of the Simmons keeper from the top of the box and into the top left corner of the far post. The score remained tied for the remainder of the half.

The Sharks reclaimed the lead when junior midfielder Lauren Brandau (Madison, Conn.) found sophomore forward Sienna Caron (Easthampton, Mass.) at the top left corner of the box. Caron redirected Brandau's lifted cross into the far post for her second goal in as many matches to give Simmons a 2-1 edge at 61:39 of the second stanza.

Senior goalkeeper Casey Halle (Watertown, Mass.) stopped one shot for the Sharks, while Regis first year goaltender Kyrsten Drake (Loganville, GA) made six saves for the visitors.

Simmons travels to Paxton, Mass. to take on GNAC rival Anna Maria College on Wednesday, September 27 for a 7:00 p.m. match and Regis heads to Standish, Maine on the same night to play Saint Joseph's College (Maine) at 7:30 PM.

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Release courtesy of Simmons College Sports Information.