HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 20, 2008) – Senior midfielder/back Erin Brennan broke a scoreless tie at the 72nd-minute mark to help lift the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team to its first conference win of the year with a 3-0 victory over St. John Fisher College Saturday afternoon. Junior midfielder/forward Erica Risch put the game out of reach when she recorded her first and second goals of the season during the final 12 minutes of play. The Ducks are now 5-1-1 on the year with an Empire 8 ledger of 1-0 as they extend their home unbeaten streak to 44-straight games. With the loss the Cardinals fall to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in league action.
The game started off relatively balanced as both teams posted a pair of shots after 20 minutes of play. The following 15 minutes of action was dominated by the Cardinals as they had a 9-0 run in shots. With just 10 minutes left to play in the first half, the Ducks were unable to capitalize on two opportunities that could have gave them the advantage heading into intermission. Stevens was out-shot 13-6 in the first 45 minutes as sophomore goalkeeper Jenn Pontier was stellar, having pulled in five saves.
With 18 minutes left in regulation, freshman back Sarah Lehman came up big for the Ducks when she registered her first collegiate assist. She sent a nice cross from right to left to Brennan who was able to tap it in towards the left corner from about seven yards out to break the 0-0 stalemate. It was Brennan's first goal of the season and second of her career.
At the 77th minute, junior midfielder/forward Erica Risch tallied her first goal of the year off the feet of sophomore forward Katria Misilo and junior midfielder/forward Leslie Kallberg. On the play, Misilo had a nice cross to Kallberg, who passed the ball five yards behind her as Risch ripped a shot from 20 yards out that cleared the outstretched arms of junior goalkeeper Ashley Martin (Marcellus, N.Y.). With a little less than three minutes to play, Risch notched her second goal of the season as she once again connected off an assist from Kallberg. A cross form Kallberg, Risch made it look easy as she blasted the ball from 25 yards out on a one-timer that sailed over the head of Martin.
Stevens held a 10-2 shot advantage in the second half. The Ducks just edged out the Cardinals in shots by a 16-15 count. Most of Pontier's work was down in the first 45 minutes as no saves were recorded in the final half of play. Pontier is 5-0-1 on the year, while Martin falls to 1-5.
The Ducks return to action next Saturday when they host defending Empire 8 Champions Ithaca College in Hoboken, N.J. at noon. Catch the action live at www.Empire8.tv.
