CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Lesley University hosted Newbury College in a match up of New England Collegiate Conference women's soccer teams and defeated the Nighthawks 5-1. The Lynx improved to 15-1-1 (7-0-0 NECC) while the Nighthawks dropped to 1-14 (0-6 NECC). Fifteen wins for Lesley breaks a single season program record in victories.
Newbury took an early 1-0 lead in the 17th minute of the match when Rachel Wyszynski (Wilbraham, Mass.) earned a hard fought goal over the head of keeper Miranda Matson (Gigs Harbor, Wash.). Wyszynski kept the defense from clearing a ball deep in Lesley zone and crossed a deep shot to score her sixth goal of the season.
It was the first goal Lesley had given up in conference play.
The Lynx would tie up the match at 21:42 when Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.) finished off a sequence of passes from Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) and Jodi Fralick (Woburn, Mass.) for her fifth score in 2008.
Fifteen minutes later, Fralick would race pace her Nighthawks defender off a lead pass from Cathryn Folkestad (Ipswich, Mass.) to lightly tap in the go-ahead goal. The score would remain 2-1 at the end of the first half.
Just under two minutes into the second half, Cabral-Pini netted her second goal of the match on a loose ball in the goalie box. DJ Bettencourt (Leominster, Mass.) collected the loose ball and found Cabral-Pini for the score.
Jenna Fralick (Woburn, Mass.) scored her ninth goal of the season, unassisted at 51:59, with a left foot to the lower right corner of the net.
Bettencourt would cap off the scoring with her first career collegiate goal at 76:52 by finishing off a lead pass from Jenna Fralick that snuck past Newbury keeper Anastasia Tridenti (Gloucester, R.I.) to a wide open Bettencourt for the score.
Tridenti tallied 10 saves on the match for the Nighthawks. Matson allowed the lone goal and made one save in the first half, followed by Corrinne Dasti (Eastham, Mass.) who stopped four shots on goal from Newbury in the second half.
Lesley's 15-1-1 mark in 2008 surpasses their previous best of 14-4-1 which was achieved in 2007, a mark recognized as an NCAA record for Most Improved Season.
Lesley will be back in action on Thursday evening as they host Lasell College at 8:00 pm for Senior Night. Newbury will travel to Southern Vermont College on Saturday for a 1:00 pm match.
To learn more about the Lesley University women's soccer team, please visit their website.
Contact:
Rob Palardy
Sports Information Director
Lesley University
617.349.8627 (office)
617.349.8640 (fax)
rpalardy@lesley.edu