HOBOKEN, N.J. (September 30, 2009) – Junior Mary Chew and freshman Gia Gonzales each netted a goal to help the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Drew University at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks have now reeled off two consecutive victories after starting the season 0-8-0, while the Rangers fall to 3-6-1 on the season.
Drew would apply much of the pressure early, recording three of the match's first four shots during the first six minutes of action. The Rangers would breakthrough at 6:06 when sophomore forward Emily Weida (Lancaster, Pa.) corralled her own rebound in the box before dishing to a streaking Courtney Carnevale (Princeton Junction, N.J.) for the game's first tally.
Undeterred, the resilient Ducks would respond by generating a couple of scoring chances of their own, first on a Chew shot at 14:32 that prompted a save from freshman goalkeeper Kimberly Jaikisson (Maplewood, N.J.), then again on a Katria Misilo shot off a Katelyn Stewart corner-kick that veered just wide left at 19:49.
Stevens, which continued to push forward as the half wore on, would finally breakthrough in the 30th minute when a streaking Chew gathered a Paige Allen cross from midfield before ripping a shot from the top of the box past Jaikisson for her first marker of the season.
The game would remain deadlocked at one until the 54th minute when Gonzales beat Jaikisson to a cross to the right side of the six-yard box and snuck a shot past the keeper to net her first collegiate goal and stake Stevens to a 2-1 advantage.
Drew would threaten to tie the game in the 63rd minute, but freshman goalkeeper Teegan Kelly made the save on a Carnevale header to preserve the lead. The stingy Stevens backline, which held the Rangers to just one shot in the second half, would control play the rest of the way, not allowing another Drew shot while helping to secure the squad's second victory of the season.
Stevens finished with a 16-9 shot advantage. Kelly made three saves en route to her first collegiate victory, while Jaikisson totaled four saves in the loss.
The Ducks return to action on October 3 when they host a KICKS Against Breast Cancer event against Empire 8 rival Alfred University. This is a special event for the program as the team tries to raise funds and awareness in the fight against breast cancer. In conjunction with Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the KICKS Against Breast Cancer Foundation, the Ducks will be collecting donations, providing pink ribbons and will be playing the game with special commemorative pink soccer balls.
