FORD HAS MEMORABLE SENIOR DAY IN 5-0 WIN OVER UMASS
PHILADELPHIA (11/02/03) – Senior Michelle Ford recorded her first career hat trick on Senior Day as Saint Joseph's prepared for its debut in the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a 5-0 blanking of Massachusetts on a perfect Sunday afternoon for soccer. Junior Marisa Barriere tied a program record with three assists.
The Hawks opened the game up on fire, scoring three goals within the first 22 minutes and never looking back. Ford kicked things off in the tenth minute with the first goal of the game. The co-captain dribbled up the left sideline and sent a low liner past the UMass keeper to give SJU a 1-0 lead.
Freshman Nancy Cook followed nine minutes later off a nifty touch pass from Barriere. Another rookie, Megan Schutt scored her 11th goal of the season on a left-footed laser that found the back of the net at the 21:17 mark. The forward now is just one goal and three points from tying the SJU single-season marks for goals and points, respectively. Ellen Stenrud set both standards in 1997.
Ford and Barriere connected twice in the second half on crosses across the box. Ford now has ten goals and 28 points, good for fifth all-time in both categories on Hawk Hill.
Sophomore Nicole DiEnna and redshirt freshman Stef Lucci combined for the shutout. UMass (4-12-1, 3-8-0 A-10) goalkeeper Kristen Rutland made four stops before giving way to senior Kelly Nigh in the 82nd minute.
Saint Joseph's (9-7-1, 7-4-0) concludes the regular season with the most conference wins in program history. The team also set a new team record for assists (27) and points (85). The five goals today were the most since a 6-1 win over Temple on September 26, 1999.
With the win, SJU wrapped up a five-seed in next week's Atlantic 10 Tournament. Fordham was a upset winner over Richmond, giving the Rams the two-seed behind Dayton. Xavier defeated Duquesne, 3-2, and despite having an identical 7-4-0 A-10 mark as SJU, wins the tiebreaker thanks to a 2-0 XU win over the Hawks. URI, a 3-1 victor over Temple, earns the six-seed.
The Hawks honored their five seniors—Lindsey Crandall, Ford, Christine Lynch, Anna Marini and Lauren Susco.
Photos provided by Greg Carroccio, Sideline Photos, LLC. To purchase action photos from today's game, visit Sidephotos.com.
|
