ANNVILLE, Pa. (August 30, 2019)  – Senior Gabby Saade scored twice to lead No. 24/No. 13 Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer over Lebanon Valley College Friday afternoon in a non-conference contest at Herbert Field. The match marked both teams' season opener.

Freshman Louise Gottwald netted her first career goal and two-time All-American Julia Panko also found the back of the net for the Ducks, who extended their opening match unbeaten streak to five (4-0-1).

Junior Erika McCarthy drew the start and stopped three shots to earn the victory. Sophomore Izzy DiDario made four saves over the final 45 minutes to secure the win. The pair combined for 11 shutouts in 2018. Serena Donmoyer made nine saves in defeat for the Dutchmen.

Saade, a Second Team All-Empire 8 Conference honoree as a junior, opened the scoring in the 20th minute. The West Windsor, New Jersey native beat her defender at the 18 and fired the ball into the right corner of the goal. Saade also opened scoring in the second half to register her fifth career multi-goal performance. Nicole Guadagnino had the lone tally for Lebanon Valley.

Turning Point

• Holding a one-goal lead after the intermission, Stevens came out firing in the second half.
• Sophomore Ally Wanzor fired a shot on net just 21 seconds into the final period, which led to a corner kick.
• The Ducks fired two more shots before the Dutchmen were able to build an attack.
• Saade finally was able to break free along the right side in the 49th minute, and beat Donmoyer for her second goal of the match. The marker gave the Ducks a two-goal advantage.

Inside the Numbers

• Stevens held a 23-10 advantage in shots, including 16-8 margin in shots on net. The margin was especially noticeable in the second half, where the Ducks tripled the Dutchmen in attempts, 15-5, en route to breaking the game open. Stevens outshot its opponents by over a four to one margin in 2018.
• Wanzor led all players with six attempts, including four on-goal.
• Lebanon Valley received three saves from field players.
• Stevens outearned the hosts in corners, 7-5. The Ducks set a program record with 146 corners one season ago.
• Gottwald drew the start in her collegiate debut. Joining the Schnecksville, Pennsylvania native in taking to the pitch to represent Stevens for the first time were freshmen Tia Saade, Catalina Abusada, Olivia Panko and Caitlin Carroll.
• Gottwald assisted on Panko's first-half goal for her first collegiate assist. 
• Sophomore Ginger Harris sprung Gottwald free with a perfectly-placed pass for her first point of the season.
• Stevens scored three "breakaway" goals.

Unsung Heroes

• A balanced attack led to shot attempts from nine different players. Junior Taylor Schaad came off the bench and took four attempts alone. Four different players took two attempts each to lead Lebanon Valley, who received shots from six players in total.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Jeff Parker)

• "Good to start off by posting a solid result today. A lot of possibilities as well as unknowns at the beginning of the season, but today was an improvement upon the last time we took the field together. These first three weekends we need to treat them like they are postseason matches with six tough opponents that are also going to be playing in November. Now, our focus is upon learning from today to prepare to perform tomorrow."

Up Next

• No. 24/No. 13 Stevens remains in the Keystone State for a non-conference fixture with No. 7/No. 6 Messiah. 
• It will be the second consecutive meeting between the programs in Grantham, where the teams played to a scoreless draw on Sept. 1, 2017. The Falcons advanced to the Third Round of the 2018 Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. 
• Live stats and video links are available at StevensDucks.com

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