EASTON, Mass. (October 10, 2024) – The Stonehill College women's soccer team took down Long Island University, 2-1, under the lights at WB Mason Stadium Thursday night. With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 5-8 overall and 4-1 in conference play, while the Sharks dropped to 4-6-1 overall and 3-1-1 against conference opponents.
Highlights
- Stonehill's victory marked the first all-time win against LIU in three total meetings dating back to 2022.
- First-year student Erin Foley netted her second career goal on junior Hannah Anselmo's fourth assist of the season.
- Sophomore Emma Cranston notched her first collegiate goal off senior Grace Caso's second assist of the year. Cranston's goal also proved to be the game-winner for the Skyhawks.
- First-year goalkeeper Allie Sougaris registered her fourth career win in net for Stonehill after registering a pair of saves against the Sharks.
- First-year student Emma Panagiotakopoulos scored the lone goal for LIU. Panagiotakopoulos' goal also marked the first of her collegiate career.
- Senior Gina Proviano dished out her second assist of the season for the Sharks.
- Redshirt sophomore Keely Thomas tallied three saves on the night in goal for LIU.
How it Happened
Stonehill wasted little time opening the scoring, as in the eighth minute of the contest, the Skyhawks would jump out to an early 1-0 lead. Following a no-look heal pass from Anselmo, Foley would roll a left-footed shot past Thomas and inside the right post for her second career goal.
Following Foley's early goal, both sides played back and forth throughout the middle third of the pitch until the 25:14 mark, when graduate student
Kara Moore nearly doubled the Skyhawks' advantage. However, Moore's shot from 25 yards out sailed just high of the Sharks' goal, leaving the score at 1-0 in favor of Stonehill.
In the 34th minute, LIU would level the game at one aside when Panagiotakopoulos pounced on a loose ball in the middle of Skyhawk's defensive end of the field and sent a right-footed shot past a diving Sougaris for her first career goal.
Heading into the second half of action, the Skyhawks would regain their one-goal lead just two minutes into the final 45 minutes of play. At the 47:02 mark, Caso would send a cross into the middle of the pitch out in front of the Shark's goal, where Cranston would rifle a left-footed shot into the back of the net, marking her first collegiate goal and giving Stonehill a 2-1 lead on the scoreboard.
Throughout the remainder of the second half of play, both sides would trade chances until the 78th minute, when LIU would narrowly knot the game back up at 2-2. However, Moore would be in the right spot in front of the Skyhawks net at the right time as she came up clutch and blocked the shot of senior
Aliya Couillard to hold on to Stonehill's narrow one-goal lead.
Despite a valiant effort to find the equalizer in the waning minutes of the conference matchup, Stonehill held off the Sharks' attack and secured a narrow 2-1 victory over LIU.
Up Next
Stonehill (5-8-0, 4-1-0 NEC) returns to action on Sunday, traveling to Delaware State to take on the Hornets in a Northeast Conference matchup set for 1 p.m., in Dover, Delaware.
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