Cambridge, Mass – Lesley University women's soccer hosted the Blazers of Elms College in an NECC Conference matchup. The Lynx added another conference win (2-0), while the Blazers receive their first setback in conference play (1-1).
It was a back and forth affair between both teams right from the start. The Blazers had an early opportunity to score, but the momentum instantly shifted in the Lynx favor when junior Kyra Harbus (Ventura, Calif) stepped in front of a vacated net, to record a save.
Later in the first half, Junior, Mckenna Straube (Junction City, Ore) set-up classmate Rachel Buckley (San Diego, Calif) for a header that found the back of the net through a crowd of Blazers. Sophomore goalie Brittley Gaan (Bellevue, Wash) displayed laser focus after denying the Blazers' multiple scoring chances created by consecutive corner kicks. The Blazers found a way to even the score late in the first half when Mackenzie Larochelle sniped the right corner of the goal.
The Lynx created several scoring opportunities in the second half, and seemed to have found the back of the goal twice, but both goals were rescinded due to penalties. The Lynx continued to push the ball into Blazer territory and finally broke the tie when senior Karlie Rubin (San Diego, Calif) found Freshman Maddy Deitrick (Burnet, TX) in stride, which led to a goal to break the stalemate.
Midway through the second half, junior Jordan Mitchell (Sachse, TX) finessed her way through defenders to score, which turned out to be the deciding goal of the match. With under four minutes left to play, the Blazers scored to make the score 3-2 when Larochelle assisted teammate, Jacqueline Soucia. However, the Lynx were able to withstand a last-minute push by the Blazers to secure a 3-2 victory.
The Lynx are now 6-1-1 on the season and will compete for the 6thAnnual Charles River Cup at Emerson College on Tuesday, September 26th. The Blazers fall to 6-3 on the season and will host Clark University in their next matchup.